


The Poet and the Prime

by NonbinaryHylian (chicagoartnerd)



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Beauty and the Beast Fusion, Beauty and the Beast Elements, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Medical Trauma, Mythology References, Past Abuse, Pre-War, Prophecy, Spark Sexual Interfacing, Sticky Sexual Interfacing, Transformers Spark Bonds
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-01-04 15:50:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 48,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18346808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chicagoartnerd/pseuds/NonbinaryHylian
Summary: Megatron has somehow narrowly avoided multiple assassination attempts by the Senate and seeks shelter in the only place no one would think to look for him...Across the Sea of Rust lies the Crystal City; haunted, blighted, and stalked by an immortal monster.Megatron, looking for shelter, instead finds more problems and a citadel full of allies in his quest to change the world, if he can win the spark of the last true Prime.





	1. The Land Of Misfit Toys

**Author's Note:**

  * For [coefore](https://archiveofourown.org/users/coefore/gifts).



> This is a pre-war IDW1 comics Beauty and The Beast AU where Megs is Belle and Optimus is the beast. This was inspired by a lovely tweet thread I had with @ C0EF0RE on Twitter. If anyone is interested I'm @ BasilBing on there and I regularly post lots of Transformers stuff and fic ideas/WIPS.

_ Once upon time, on a faraway planet _

_ A young soldier guarded a shining crystal city. _

_ Although he had a duty and cared for it completely, _

_ The soldier was deeply unhappy and alone _

 

_ But then, on a dark and starless night, _

_ An old senator came to his post in the crystal citadel _

_ And offered him a gift _

_ In return for his future loyalty and undying service. _

_ Wary and jaded _

_ The soldier sneered at the gift, _

_ And turned the old senator away. _

 

_ But he warned him not to be deceived by appearances,  _

_ for true purpose was found within.   _

 

_ And when he dismissed him again, _

_ The old senator’s disguise melted away _

_ To reveal the sorcerer Onyx Prime. _

 

_ The soldier tried to apologize, but it was too late, _

_ For he had seen that there was no hope nor love in his spark. _

_ And as punishment, _

_ He thrust the Matrix of Leadership upon him, _

_ remaking him,   _

_ And placed a powerful spell on the crystal citadel, _

_ Transforming the alt-modes of all who lived there. _

 

_ Ashamed of his monstrous form, _

_ The new Prime concealed himself inside the citadel, _

_ With a mirror glass as his only window to the outside world. _

 

_ His punishment, _

_ Was truly a blessing and a curse, _

_ The Matrix made him stronger, more powerful _

_ Almost god-like in that he could feel the sparks of all his people. _

_ But now he was even more alone _

_ Set apart from all others. _

_ The sorcerer Onyx foretold that if he could learn to love another, _

_ And earn their love in return _

_ By the time the senate fell to revolution, _

_ Then their world would be saved. _

_ If not, he would be doomed to become a tyrant _

_ Like all the Primes of old. _

 

_ As the years passed, _

_ He fell into despair, and lost all hope, _

_ For who could ever learn to love...a Prime? _

 

* * *

 

 

Megatron was running for his life. The senate’s foot soldiers were out to kill him, again. They didn’t want to make him a martyr to the cause so they were trying to go about it subtly this time. Hire some goons in a bar fight, make it look like an accident. Maybe before his manifesto had proliferated the cybernet they could have gotten away with it. Now it was too late. He was running from hole in the ground to hole in the ground trying to survive long enough to gather his scattered comrades in arms. There was one place no one would ever think to look for him though.

The Crystal City stood as a reminder of a Golden Age to some, a beacon of the decadence of the past to others. But everyone agreed that the whole area was blighted. Some powerful science, not unlike a magic spell, had cursed the city. No one who entered ever returned. And supposedly trapped in the citadel there was a great and terrible monster.

One who would bring about the apocalypse on Cybertron, the last true Prime.

Megatron didn’t believe in the godly power of the Prime’s anymore than he believed that the senators were Primus ordained to rule based on their alt-modes. But he did respect that there was something deeply wrong with the Crystal City.

He had no other source of refuge, Cybertron was not safe for the rebellion leader and neither were any the off world moons. So he made his way through the Sea of Rust towards the towering glass spires of the ghostly city. The gates were open and there was no one in sight. The streets and buildings were crumbling from age and disuse, a layer of orange rust dust coated every once shiny surface.

Except for the citadel.

It stood pristine and untouched under some sort of protective veil. The whole building shimmered brightly in the setting sunlight. He could have made camp in one of the crumbling buildings but he was drawn to the bright unwavering glow of the tower in the center of the eerily empty city. As he approached the oscillating rainbow veil around the tower he was surprised that it parted under his hands like water. He stepped through. Inside the citadel courtyard was beautiful and untouched. Gleaming pink and blue glass in the setting of the red Cybertronian suns.

His footsteps were unnervingly loud in the utter silence of the courtyard. He didn’t dare stop there, it felt too open and exposed. He saw the looming dark blue doors to the citadel and approached them cautiously. Megatron didn’t carry any weapons other than his own hands but he was still a large mining bot, if there was danger lurking behind the door he would be ready to throw a punch at it.

It turned out that the entry hall of the citadel was just as empty as the courtyard had been, the creak of massive door giving way below his palms made him pause but there was nothing but the faintly glowing entry hall behind it. It was much darker inside than the outside had been, the weak glow of the glass of the building was dimmed enough that he had to adjust his optics. As he wandered up towards the massive staircase leading to the upper levels he froze.

There were voices!

He crouched down against the stair bannister. The last thing he needed was to run into other Cybertronians and have to explain what in the pit he was doing here. But he needn’t have hidden as his audials were picking up the echoes of two voices far upstairs in the tower.

“Oh noooo! We are not doing this again. He’s in one of his moods it’s utterly pointless!”

The first voice was airy and slightly screeching and the one that responded was lower and full of mirth. “It’s not pointless! Even though he never says it I know Optimus appreciates when we try and cheer him up a little.”

Megatron could practically hear the first voice’s optics roll as he responded sardonically. “Yes well as much as you seem to enjoy getting pieces of glass walls thrown at you I have no interest in dodging them tonight.”

The second voice sighed in exasperation. “Fine. Maybe I can get Ratchet to help me.”

This must have been the wrong thing to say because the first voice screeched loudly at him. “What!? You know that goody goody is on his rounds trying to help 'bots with unfortunate alt-modes' all night. He won’t stop his crusade long enough to go on a pointless quest to try and placate the Prime for a few slagging hours.”

Megatron’s yellow optics went wide at that. There really was some sort of Prime trapped here?! And from the sounds of it an angry one at that. The second voice was slightly smug when it responded. “Well if you don’t want me to go galavanting around with Ratchet tonight then maybe you should come with me after all.”

The first voice let out a loud grating groan before muttering. “I hate you. But I suppose I will go on this fool’s errand if another more interesting diversion doesn’t present itself. Maybe this time he’ll finally crush us both underfoot and put us out of our misery.”

The other voice sounded distraught at that. “Starscream! You know that was an accident! He didn’t mean to do that to Skyfire. He’s spent the last 500 years atoning for that mistake. It’s really cruel of you to keep throwing it in his face like that.”

The first voice, Starscream, bitterly responded. “When he kills your conjunx endura in a towering rage then you can decide how long I get to be upset about it. Till then mind your own fragging business Bumblebee.”

That made Megatron’s energon run cold.

This monster, Optimus Prime, had murdered this other bot’s spouse. Who knew what else he was capable of.

He was trying to parse everything he had just overheard and wasn’t paying attention to the fact that the voices had been drawing nearer to the staircase over the course of their conversation. So he was shocked when the two bots rounded the corner and appeared at the top of the staircase. They were both in their alt-modes, a seeker jet and a round yellow speedster, and yet something was wrong. Their alt-mode’s were no bigger than the palm of his hand.

To his dismay they had definitely noticed him crouched down on the staircase landing because the little jet, Starscream, crowed victoriously at the smaller car, Bumblebee. “Well what do you know! Look Bee, a worthy diversion!”

Megatron quickly stood and took a step back off the staircase landing ready to run. He didn’t know what these two strange bots were going to do to him, he had to be ready for anything.

Fortunately they didn’t seem angry as Bumblebee yelled down at him. “Whoa, whoa, whoa there friend no need to flee I know we look a bit unnerving but we don’t mean you any harm.”

The little jet guffawed at that. “We may not mean you any harm trespasser but that doesn’t mean you're safe here in the cursed citadel of Optimus Prime.”

Bumble sighed, put upon, and continued. “What my frustrating friend here means is we should go somewhere a bit more private to talk. He and I can explain exactly what you’ve walked into.”

They must have been communicating on a different frequency because although the small jet and car were quiet their body language was definitely having an argument back forth. Megatron waited patiently for them to come to some sort of agreement and luckily he didn’t have to wait long.

Starscream snarled “fine!” at Bumblebee before rounding on Megatron and zipping through the air to stop right in front of his face. “I’m Starscream and this little yellow thorn in my side is Bumblebee. We used to be a scientist and a security scout respectively before this whole debacle. We can take you somewhere marginally safer and explain all of this. And what should we be calling you?”

There was something deeply concerning going on here. But it seemed these two weren’t like any other bots he’d encountered before so they probably had no idea who he was or why he’d come here to this supposedly deserted city.

He cleared his vocalizer. “My name is Megatron and I would definitely appreciate a detailed explanation of the situation.”

Starscream muttered darkly. “Megatron? Like Megatronus?”

Bumblebee definitely would have elbowed him in the side if he had had elbows but instead his small tires screeched as they revved backwards in place. After the noise Starscream darted through the air back towards Bee and then up the staircase before calling back. “Follow me then, Megatron.”

Starscream raced ahead but Bumblebee was close behind him jumping from step to step, keeping pace with Megatron’s much larger strides as they led him upstairs and down a darkened hallway with a large door at the end of it. Starscream tapped his nose cone against the door several times and then it slowly opened from within. Megatron looked down to see a short silver dinosaur, that only came up to just below his knee, opening the door.

Bumblebee raced through the now open door and called back towards the dinosaur and Megatron. “Thanks Grim! It’s Grimlock’s job to open the doors that are too heavy for most of us to manage now because of the curse but if you decide to stick around you might be asked to open some doors too!”

Megatron couldn’t help but stare as he entered the large room and watched the much smaller dinobot shut the door with the push of his head. He quickly looked up in time to see many other small bots in their alt-modes scatter to the shadows of the room as he entered. It appeared to have been a finely appointed habsuite at one time but now it was home to a makeshift miniature city. At the far end towards an opaque black window there was a small row of energon tanks. In the opposite corner there appeared to be several small recharge slabs, once meant for minibots. In the center of the room, one side pushed against the wall was a com unit and a large chair, well large enough for Megatron to sit in.

Bumblebee raced towards it. “Go ahead and sit here! You’re gonna wanna be sitting down when we explain everything that’s going on. Also everyone this is our new guest Megatron. Please be on your best behavior! Especially you Arcee. I know we haven’t had any visitors in over 500 years but that doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten how to be hospitable.”

A myriad of small vehicles, both grounded and flyers surged out of the shadows. Megatron carefully sat down in the proffered chair and waited for an explanation.

The mech-hunt he was under momentarily forgotten, it seemed he had stumbled upon one of Cybertron's great mysteries.

There was a time when their world had seemed more magic than science. The alien pulses of life bringing light from the stars raising sparks from dead rock and metal. Strange beasts of organic and cybernetic nature lumbering out from the hot crust of the molten metal planet. All of this had been several million years before his forging and most of it had been reduced to a legend, a story told to entertain newsparks. And while the predicament of the bots shrunk small and trapped in their alt-modes before him could be explained by some advanced, perhaps long forgotten tech, it felt like he might have accidentally stepped back into a time of myths.

A small blue helicopter lifted Bumblebee up onto the table in front of him, setting hims down careful before flying off back towards the shadows. He did a quick donut on the table top, wheels screeching before he shook out his chassis, addressing Megatron. “I could introduce everyone, there are 48 of us trapped here not counting Optimus Prime, but I think you’ll get to meet all of us in time and my efforts would be better spent explaining what exactly is going on.”

He was interrupted by Starscream. “Do you want the fairy-tale version or the actually less terrifying plain speak story? I’m partial to the recharge-time story myself as it involves sorcerers, ogres, and dark magic, but it’s your choice.”

Bumblebee sighed heavily mumbling “Star” before continuing as if he hadn’t heard the Jet. “About 500 years ago a new Prime was born. Unfortunately the circumstances of his rebirth were, more than a little chaotic as the one who made him what he is now, a matrix bearer, was none other than the infamous sorcerer Onyx Prime.”

Megatron couldn’t stop his scoffing in time. Onyx Prime was an old sparkmate’s story. A dark shadow, casting a long pall over history. He was used to teach newsparks that the Prime’s of old had been destroyed from within by another evil Prime. Not by their hubris and greed which is what had actually led the original Thirteen Primes to war with, and destroy one another. He shook his head slightly when he realized Bumblebee had stopped talking and motioned for him to continue.

The small yellow speedster cleared his vocalizer and continued. “We were all stationed here in the Crystal City, most of us scientists, engineers and medics. Although some of us were soldiers, guards, and scouts as well. When Orion Pax was reforged as Optimus Prime in the light of the Matrix a strange wave of power surged over the entire city. Everyone within the walls was reduced to a fraction of their original size and locked into their alt-modes. Some of us attempted to flee at that time but were repelled back by a strong forcefield when we made it to the edge of the courtyard outside the citadel.”

“Onyx then relayed a prophecy to Optimus about how we all could be freed from this strange curse placed upon us. Ever since then the Prime has worked tirelessly to try and cure whatever Onyx did to him, and to us.”

Starscream snorted loudly at that but Bee revved his engines angrily at him before finishing. “While I don’t know what brings you here we're glad you are. We haven’t really seen anyone but each other for a long time. It would be nice to know what is going on outside these walls. And maybe perhaps you can help us, I’m sure Optimus would appreciate any assistance you could render, but uh now might not be the best time to introduce you to him.”

Starscream made another affronted scoff in his vocalizer and Bee was about to scold him again when a slim pink car close to Megatron’s left foot spoke. “He’s here to tell us the war has begun. That’s the only thing that makes any sense. The end of Onyx’s slagged prophecy is upon us!”

The car’s declaration caused all the other vehicles to erupt in shouting at once. Bumblebee rushed around the table top trying to calm down different bots on the floor but it was actually a loud thud at the door that made everyone fall silent. Grimlock dutifully opened it and a small red and white ambulance, trailed by a white speedster with red and green stripes, and a teal and white jet entered in a rush. He had to look carefully but he noticed that on top of the ambulance sat a very small red microscope. Megatron turned in his seat the watch the newcomers come right up to him below the table.

Before anyone else could speak the ambulance yelled up to Bumblebee. “We came as soon as we got your com. Wheeljack and Brainstorm were working in the lab and needed assistance running some numbers so I went to fetch Perceptor. This must be our visitor.” The ambulance turned his attention to Megatron. “ I’m Ratchet. The microscope is Perceptor, the white speedster Wheeljack, and the jet is Brainstorm.”

Megatron nodded down at them and was about to speak when Starscream dove towards Ratchet and his crew and screeched at them. “Ah yes the nobel medic here to heal the wounds of the world. I’m sure you’ll want to spirit away our guest to visit your precious Prime, most likely to get his head bashed in and tossed for scrap if his earlier mood is any indication.”

Ratchet scoffed at the high strung jet but it was Bumblebee who spoke up. “Don’t scare him needlessly Starscream! Optimus has better control over...himself than he’s had in years. It probably has something to do with that mirror of his showing him what’s going on outside. But I believe in my spark he will not hurt our visitor.”

Starscream let out a loud groan. “Your unyielding trust and faith in that monster never ceases to grate on my circuits Bumblebee. Do what you want with him, I grow tired of this little drama you’re all putting on.”

He floated up to eye level with Megatron throwing him a parting “don’t say I didn’t warn you” before zipping towards the door, which Grimlock dutifully opened for him.

Ratchet sighed heavily and sounded exhausted when he spoke. “Starscream used to be a scientist but ever since he lost his conjunx he’s been nothing but a nuisance, sniping and picking at every petty difference and grievance amongst all of us here.”

This actually seemed to rile Bee up because he jumped to the jet’s defense. “Starscream’s always been prickly but he’s doing better. The few times I’ve taken him with me to visit Optimus he’s actually been helpful. He’s hurting Ratchet. We are all hurting for what we’ve lost while here but he’s the only one grieving a sparkmate.”

Ratchet muttered something that he probably wasn’t meant to hear but his audials where still turned up from eavesdropping earlier and he caught it anyway. “You’re only so forgiving of him because you’re sweet on him. Primus knows why.”

Ratchet continued louder for everyone to hear. “In this rare instance I think Starscream is right. We should hold off introducing our new guest to Optimus till the next morning, I will go tell him personally what’s going on beforehand to avoid any...unpleasantness.”

He addressed Megatron directly tapping his bumper into his foot. “I just have one question for you newcomer, why in the name of Primus are you even here?”

Megatron wasn’t sure how much to reveal to them. They had been out of Cybertronian politics for the last 500 years so they certainly wouldn’t have heard of him or the newly named Decepticon rebellion. But he also wasn’t sure they’d want a fugitive among them. He decided on an abridged version of the truth.

“I am being hunted across Cybertron because of my political beliefs. The Crystal City is somewhere no one goes and no one will likely come to look for me. They fear this place is haunted and cursed and will not approach it but I am desperate, so here I am at your doorstep and at your mercy.”

“I came here to try and rally my friends for our cause and to plan our next moves while continuing to write. I am an author and a poet in this life but in the past I was a miner. That is part the reason I am being hunted, I didn’t stay in my ‘proper place.’ All I ask is for shelter here for a short while. Maybe we can help each other while I am here.”  

All of that was true. He was just leaving out quite a few of the more dark details. Although from the sounds of it so were they. This Prime of theirs had a murderous temper they all seemed to be trying to forgive him for. All except Starscream. He would have to talk to the jet later, out of everyone he had met so far he seemed the most willing to tell him the sordid truths of this seemingly bespelled citadel.

His answer must have been satisfactory as Ratchet huffed and then called to Brainstorm. “Hey can you take Perceptor back with you I’m going to go see Optimus immediately. Bee why don’t you show Megatron to one of the old senator's habsuites. We haven’t opened them up in a while but they should be alright as you know Blurr likes to race around in them and he can’t stand dust so Swerve usually dusts regularly in there.”

The teal and white jet was practically bouncing when he replied. “Oh of course I wouldn’t mind giving Percy a ride back to the lab! That’s the not only kind of ride I’d like to give him but we’re too busy doing science to do each other.”

The red microscope Perceptor sputtered loudly about inappropriate workplace relationships as Brainstorm dipped down and nudged him onto his wings before taking off again and waiting from Grimlock to get the door once more. Ratchet nodded his whole front end and then took off out the door after them before Grimlock could close it once more. The remaining car, Wheeljack, screeched his tires once and left as well.  

Bee went to the edge of the table and honked at him twice before Megatron realized what he wanted and offered his hand for Bumblebee to drive out onto. He carefully lowered him to the ground and the little yellow car took off towards the still open door. Megatron stood, mindful not to step on anyone still around his feet and followed him out the door. The mini racer zipped off down the dim hall and made a quick left at the end of it. Megatron turned the corner and saw that he was idling in front of the only door at the end of that small bend.

He called up to him. “Hey I thought you wouldn’t mind getting the door since you’re big enough for it heh. This used to be one of the visiting senator’s quarters, Shockwave I think? It’s been so long I think all of us are kinda hoping you’ll tell us if anything has changed.”

Megatron had been forged less than 500 years ago but in all his short lifetime nothing had changed except for the worse. He made sure to tell him that. “I’m afraid that’s part of the problem, things are the same as they were 500 years ago. A corrupt, indulgent and increasingly brutal council of wealthy elites rules over a class of makers of all kinds. Whether they are pulling energon from the ground or shaping sculptures or decanting scientific wonders they are stifled under the artificial shortage of resources created by the rich.”

Bumblebee was silent for a beat and then sighed heavily. “I was afraid you were going to say that. Well I’m sure everyone will have some questions for you regardless. If you spend any amount of time here with us you’ll come to know our opinions on the state of the world, even if we haven’t really been living in it.”

Megatron reached out and opened the door and Bumblebee scooted out of the way as he entered the slightly dusty but clean, cool room. As he stepped inside a few low blue lights flickered to life along the walls. 

Bumblebee cleared his vocalizer. “We’re lucky as we’re over an energon vein here and we have more than we could ever use, but we keep the lights powered down because I don’t think any of us want to see the real state of things, or each other, too clearly.”

“If you need anything there will always be at least one of two of us in that meeting room I took you to earlier, or if you want here is my personal hailing frequency. Have a good recharge and one more very important thing: you can wander the citadel to your heart’s content, go ahead and open any door you find, but never enter the upper West Wing by yourself.”

With that Bumblebee threw his wheels into reverse and scooted off down the hallway.

Megatron frowned as he shut the door.

He didn’t like being told he couldn’t do something, let alone told not to do something without any explanation as to why. He suspected the West Wing of the citadel was the Prime’s quarters and it was probably for the best he avoided it. Yet he was curious now. Maybe he would attempt to sneak up there tomorrow but as of right now he was exhausted. His long trip across the Sea of Rust had left him low on charge and more than a little dusty.

He found the door to the wash room and carefully checked to see the solvent nozzle worked before he turned it on and let the chemical cleaner run down his heavy gray frame. He was no longer covered in the striped hazard paint of a miner, his body felt strangely naked without it but it had been drawing too much unwanted attention. Instead he was just a large dull gray bot. Fortunately it didn’t take too long to get clean and although he usually preferred to air dry he was exhausted and used the laser heat dryer in the corner before he laid down on the recharge slab in the center of the room and fell almost instantly into deep, dreamless recharge.


	2. In The Belly Of The Beast

Megatron’s optics sizzled as they onlined. The room was just as dark as it had been when he had fallen into recharge, the inside of the citadel was like a perpetual twilight world. Just bright enough to see your own feet and dark enough to hide without the use of infrared. He was glad the berth was quite comfortable and his HUD informed him he had slept for a full charge so he decided to get up and walk over to the long table in the corner.

He sat in the chair in front of it and the screens lined up behind it flickered to dim life. They were prompting him for a password so he didn’t bother to try and access them, instead he pulled a datapad out of his subspace and logged onto the cybernet. This particular pad had been modified by a sympathetic friend at Iacon’s Academy of Sciences to be untraceable and so far it had proved to be.

The first person he contacted was Impactor.

They sadly hadn’t been as close after his arrest. He was sure he was mad that Megatron had hid and avoided being apprehended that night, while Impactor had earned several days in jail and a manual labor fine. But he needed him now, needed someone who actually knew him as himself and not just his many online pseudonyms.

He sent him an urgent ping and waited for a response. When he didn’t get one immediately he bit his lip angrily and started to sort through the threads in the various revolutionary friendly forums he frequented. There wasn’t anything particular new or urgent going on there so he closed the cybernet windows and opened his text editing program. He was working on a manifesto, a manuscript about the way forward for everyone he was tentatively calling “Towards Peace.” But after several aborted sentences that he hated that were obviously going nowhere he decided to open his poetry application instead. Talking his stylus from the side of the datapad he began to write glowing characters, forming words and phrases that felt right on the screen in his hand.

_We see pride in a selfish chest, while a spark is breaking there;_

_This world would be such a kindly one if all mech's sparks lay bare_

_We live and share the living lie, we are doing very well,_

_They eat away at our sparks as the years go by, do the things we dare not tell._

Two loud thumps at the door snapped him out of the mesmerizing flow he often slipped into while writing. He quickly turned the datapad off and stored it in his subspace before getting up to open the door. As soon as he did Ratchet came barreling in past his feet and turned around in front of the recharge slab in the middle of the room back to face him.

His vocalizer was slightly staticky when he spoke. “I hope I didn’t wake you but Optimus Prime wants to speak to you as soon as possible. If you’ll follow me up I can take you to him.”

Megatron wasn’t sure he wanted to meet the Prime but if he was going to try and stay here he supposed he should be willing to see him at least once.

No matter how dangerous that might be for them both.

He swallowed heavily, nodding, and Ratchet relaxed slightly as he rolled past Megatron back out the door and down the hall at a much slower pace than he had entered. Megatron followed quietly trying to memorize the path they took from his room, up the stairs towards the West Wing of the citadel.

Ratchet started to grumble while driving up the large steps and Megatron thought about asking him if he wanted help but was pretty sure that wouldn’t have gone over well so he remained quiet. The little  ambulance led him down the West Wing, the lighting was even dimmer here, in fact there weren’t many lights at all, on closer inspection he saw that they had all been smashed.

That made his his spark start to flutter anxiously.

He knew this Prime had a temper hot enough to kill and it appeared that not even the walls and fixtures of the building were safe from his wrath. Which was not a good omen for their coming meeting. He tried to remain calm and stop his shoulders from scrunching up towards his audials but it was harder than he would have liked.

Megatron wasn’t a coward, no matter what Impactor muttered about him, he had fought quite a few bots down in the mine’s of Tarn, mostly at Terminus’s behest. But this Optimus Prime was a different beast altogether. As much as he was willing to die for his cause he very much hoped he wouldn’t have to. Especially not here where no one would know what had become of him.

Ratchet stopped in front of a massive set of double doors and cleared his vocalizer before calling out loudly through it. “Optimus I’ve bought the visitor like you asked.”

There was no response as the door opened silently swinging inward. Ratchet carefully entered the darkened room and Megatron followed a short way behind him. Once they were inside he saw that the room wasn’t nearly as dark as the hallway because all along the the furthest wall was a set of massive floor to ceiling windows. Only instead of the opaque blackness reflected in the ones he had seen so far these showed the suns beating down brutally on the red orange sand of the Sea of Rust.

A huge hulking shape stood in front of the blazing windows, his form backlit and cast in almost complete shadow. When he spoke his voice was raw, deep, and sounded as if it was traveling towards Megatron from the bottom of a mine shaft. “Thank you Ratchet. You may leave us as I think we have some private things to discuss.”

Ratchet hesitated for a moment but he must have thought better of it because he revved his engine once in agreement and then sped out of the room. The door shut after him of its own accord and Megatron had to fight the urge to jump at the sound of the lock clicking shut.

The room illuminated by the windows was almost entirely empty. Its walls were an unblemished crystal blue and in the far corner to his right there was a large recharge slab. Other than that the only thing in the room was a massive round table, the top of which had a mercurial mirror finish that glowed eerily without any obvious source of light. At the head of the table was a single battered chair that looked like it might have been thrown through a wall at some point. But other than that there was nothing else to draw his eye, nothing except the shadowed form of Optimus Prime, a dark monolith in front of the fiery wall of windows.

He swallowed his spark which was threatening to crawl out of his throat and was pleased when his voice came out strong and even. “I am Megatron of Tarn, I was told by Bumblebee and some of the others about what happened here, what happened to you. I am here because I need shelter. As it turns out there are a hell of a lot of mechs on this planet that wish me dead or worse. All because of what I believe in.”

He was going to continue when Optimus raised one massive hand for him to stop. His voice was gravely and broken. It sounded as if he hadn’t been using it much. “I know who you are Megatron of Tarn. And more importantly I know what you are. What I do not know is what should be done about you.”

Megatron shivered, he really didn’t like where this was going but Optimus carried on.

“My mirror has shown me troubling things. You are right, a great many on this planet desire to snuff out your spark. There are those among them who would say it is in my best interest, and Cybertron’s, to do just that.”

Optimus Prime turned his head around and fixed Megatron with a fiercely glowing blue optic and any words he had been forming, to plead his case or for his life, died in his vocalizer.

The Prime sighed heavily and it sounded as if that ex-vent had shaken him to his spark. “You may stay here. I cannot promise this will always be a safe haven but for now no one here shall harm you. Get to know the others and tell them what you will of your brewing insurrection, I will not hinder your organizing for now."

"But know this: at some point, most likely some time soon, we will reach an impasse and both of us must choose what is to become of Cybertron.”

Megatron didn't like the sound of that; it was the kind of semi-cryptic fantastical religious prophecy the Council liked to spin. It made his plating crawl over his protoform. The weight of the words made it feel like the gravity of the room had suddenly increased. As much and he didn’t want to believe in the divine it seemed as if something of that kind didn’t care what he believed and was coming for him.

He was about to respond when the Prime turned all the way around suddenly and stalked towards him.

Megatron’s spark was telling him to run, run fast, run far, but his feet were stuck to the ground as if magnetized.

He was frozen as he watched Optimus Prime come closer, every line of his blue, red, and silver frame spoke to deadly power. He was two heads taller than Megatron and much wider in the shoulders. His bright red forearms were thick and had obviously been modified to contain multiple weapons. Megatron could bludgeon a fragger and break a glass jaw easily enough but his frame was built for moving rubble, not for delivering death. The mech before of him was designed for it, would take to slicing or shooting through a body like a Seeker cutting through the air. Every rippling movement of his body calculated to kill in the fewest possible blows, the Matrix had remade him. It had spun and fortified his form to revel in destruction. The Prime's towering stature a testament to glorify the violence of war.  

He was utterly terrifying.

But also strangely captivating.

The lines of red and silver plating flashed down his body like lightning and his dark blue helm made those Matrix blue optics smolder, set deep in his face. A face mostly obscured by a hard gray battlemask. Even where there was beauty in him it was a reminder of lethality. Megatron couldn’t make his body move so instead he watched with wide golden optics as the Prime came to menace above him.

When the hulking mech spoke it came out a low rasping whisper. “I am not your enemy Megatron, not yet. I...if you would come here every morning around this time I would break my fast with you and perhaps we could discuss your views.”

“If not I understand, but know you have an open invitation to knock on my door whenever you should you wish to do so. The others have told you to stay out of the West Wing as it is mine and they are forbidden entry without invitation but I will allow you to come and go as you please. There is nothing holding you here and nothing here that will harm you.”

With that he seemed to have realized he was looming as he took several quick steps backward and Megatron felt whatever fear was holding him in place shatter around him like a pane of glass.

He cleared his vocalizer awkwardly and tried to meet Optimus Prime’s liquid blue stare as he spoke. “I...would not be opposed to discussing my views on the current state of Cybertron with you over a cube of energon, but as you say you already know where I stand. Also I assume you include yourself when you speak of nothing here causing me harm?”

Optimus Prime flinched at that last bit behind his silver battlemask but quickly recovered and nodded slowly before responding. “I see you’ve spoken to Starscream then. When I say nothing here will harm you I mean not even I. Even if I should want to.”

“I’ve learned over the last 500 years how to control my rage, it is still there but I do not call on it for violence against any living being. That might not sound incredibly reassuring but it is the truth. Now you may go. I will wait for you tomorrow morning but I understand if you do not wish to come.”

Megatron averted his yellow optics from those roiling blue ones and nodded once before backing up towards the door, he turned to open it and it swung in towards him of its own accord.

He was going to have to figure out how it did that later but first he turned to exit and before he could think better of it called over his shoulder cheekily. “I’ll come back, if only to hear your full and honest opinion about a Prime’s _proper_ role in our government.”

He wasn’t expecting the strangled laugh that escaped Optimus Prime and neither was the bigger mech because he quickly looked away abashed.

Megatron wasn’t sure what to make of that as he hurried out the door and down the dark corridor back towards his new habsuite. Ratchet had been waiting and heard him walking quickly away from the Prime’s quarters as his engines clicked on as Megatron turned the corner to the stairs back down to the lower floors of the tower. He knew he wanted to ask him what happened but Megatron really didn’t want to tell him, not yet anyway.

Ratchet sensed his reluctance because of instead of asking what he wanted to he tried for polite conversation. “I don’t know if you’ve had your morning refuel yet but the rest of us are taking ours in the main meeting room right now if you want to join us. If not you’re welcome to explore, I know Bumblebee wouldn’t mind showing you around.”

Megatron wasn’t sure he wanted to be around anyone else right now, he needed to think. Instead he deflected. “Actually I think I want to go outside, the sun looked inviting from those windows. When I approached the tower yesterday I noticed a veranda. Can you show me how to get there?”

Ratchet accepted his change of topics, his wheels screeched to the side as he started in the opposite direction they were heading before. He led him up two more flights of stairs and then outside. The bright orange sunlight was almost blinding as it reflected off the blue white crystal of the citadel.

The medic huffed as he spun slowly around to leave. “He’s not a monster you know. The rest of us have each other to commiserate with but he’s always kept himself apart, even before he was a Prime. You should ask him about what his time here was like while he was still Orion Pax.”

With that Ratchet departed back down the hallway they had come from and left Megatron with his thoughts. Which were slightly panicked and not all together as organized as he would have liked. The Prime had been monstrous but as Ratchet had said he was no monster. He was inclined to dislike him simply for what he represented, a bloated corrupt theocracy, but he hand't been unreasonable. Menacing, but not unkind. He had offered him shelter and the run of the whole citadel, and to try and convince the bots there to join his revolution.

Which was all that he could of hoped for and yet he was ill at ease. Something else was going on here, something he didn't understand. And Megatron hated feeling out of his depth. It didn't happen often, he was a big bot with a brilliant mind and a lot of ambition, but when it did it really made him feel vulnerable and all the youth of his scant 200 years.   

He walked to the edge of the balcony and sat down with his legs dangling through the rails that protected the ledge. It was a beautiful day out, the blue sky warm from beyond the strange forcefield that encircled the building. The red and yellow suns were burning high and bright at their nexuses and the Sea of Rust was quiet and still.

He pulled his datapad from his subspace and sighed heavily when he saw that his com to Impactor was still unread. That wasn’t surprising but he was still disappointed. They needed to talk. Preferably in person but not until Megatron showed his hand and returned to public life to challenge the Senate and the Council. He scanned the forums and noticed a post by someone he considered a friend, although they had never met. He was a lyricist who preferred music to poetry but in Megatron’s estimation there wasn't much difference between the two disciplines. His latest post had almost thirty thousand reactions which was impressive.

He clicked on the file titled “The Times They are a Changin’” and listened to the rhythmic song as it cast out a warning.

 

_Come Senators, Councilmen, please heed the call_

_Don’t stand in the doorway, don’t block up the hall_

_For he who gets hurt will be he who has stalled_

_The battle outside ragin’_

_Will soon shake your windows and rattle your walls_

_For the times they are a changin’_

 

_The line it is drawn, the curse it is cast_

_The slow one now will later be fast_

_As the present now will later be past_

_The order is rapidly fading_

_The first one now will later be last_

_For the times they are a changin’_

 

Crest_Azular, the poster, had a way with words he admired greatly and was just as revolutionary, if not more so, than Megatron. He often warned of dire violence if the people’s complaints and suffering was not heeded. Which Megatron didn’t yet wholly agree with. After all that he had seen in his brief time in Iacon, especially what he had seen of Dead End, he wasn’t sure he’d disagree with him much longer.

That reminded him of what Optimus Prime had threatened. Someday soon he would come to an impasse and must choose which side he was on. He was sure that he had meant either the side of the government or the side of the people.

But he did want to ask the Prime exactly what he meant as he had been ominously vague. Megatron had never enjoyed being talked down to. He had spent his entire life trying to prove that he was just as high minded as any of the wealthy bots born to privilege in Iacon even though he was forged deep in the mines of Tarn. He believed your alt-mode shouldn’t dictate all you could do or would want to do in your hopefully long life. Although everyone knew you were more likely to die in the mines than in the glittering streets of Iacon. Not just from dangerous cave ins and machinery malfunctions but from accidents caused by reduced capacity after receiving inadequate fuel. The fuel shortages had been a recent worrying development. There were parts of Cybertron that the Senate was willing to let starve and the mining colonies seemed to be one such place.

Which at first baffled him because didn’t they all need someone to mine the energon? It was Terminus who pointed out that if there were less mouths to feed there would be less of a need for fuel. At first he didn’t want to believe all of the hard and cynical things Terminus told him about the world but in the end he had been right. The elite had let Terminus die in squalor and had sent Trepan to kill Megatron, or at least his mind, for trying to save him.

For trying to save them all.

And for his writing.

He never did figure out how Terminus had got his works out of the mines after all the datapads and cybernet hook ups had been removed. But he had and they had punished them both for it. He and Impactor had fled in the chaos of the mines being decommissioned, scrubbing their forms of all the paint that marked them a miners, and after almost being arrested with Impactor he had decided it was time to go to ground. Megatron had warned him that he was about to disappear but he was still in jail and might not have heard. By now he was free and was just ignoring Megatron’s coms.

He hummed tunelessly as he took out his stylus and started to write again. Sometimes it was the only way he could clear his mind of all the thoughts that crowded in and tried to overwhelm him. He worked some more on “Towards Peace” and discussed the tyranny of the system, how it was a prison, a poison in the spark of every Cybertronian.

Megatron must have writing away for hours because by the time he stopped he had a twinge in his back struts and the suns were quickly dipping towards the horizon. He also noticed he was very hungry as he hadn’t refueled all day.

Groaning slightly as he stood he made his way back towards where he was sure his habsuite was. After getting turned around twice he managed to find it, not that there weren’t many rooms he could have recharged in, he wanted to use this one as they had given it to him and he didn’t want to be rude. He had been given so few things in his life he had learned to respect what he had. Although now that he thought about it might have been rude to avoid everyone all day and spend it writing alone outside.

Maybe tomorrow he would eat with the others, maybe even the Prime. That thought made his mostly empty tanks churn as he filled an energon cube and sat down on the recharge slab in the middle of the room. He quickly drank two cubes and then threw his legs all the way up on the berth and laid down.

There wasn’t much left for him to do but fall into recharge.

When he did his dreams were fleeting and strange. Flashes of purple on a field of unending red. Screams and explosions. It felt like the world was ending over and over. A war that stretched on for several lifetimes, to be reborn anew in every fledgling dream of a better future. Two dark figures rose, red optics opposing blue, tearing the other limb from limb only to cling to each other, forms forever locked in a deadly embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Megatron's poetry is all a rewriting of public domain poetry from Henry Lawson. This particular poem is called "The Things We Dare Not Tell" I'll keep using other lines from it later ehehe. Also gotta throw in some Bob Dylan there as this is, at its heart, the tale of revolution. Annnnddd I'll give you two guesses who Crest_Azular is lol 
> 
> This chapter is a shorter one but an important one as it is their first meeting and I set up a couple different things here. I'm trying to stay at least one chapter ahead of the updates but this fic is at present 4 chapters and 16k so uh you're all in for a ride, hold onto your hats this is gonna be at least 25k. ;)


	3. Be Our Guest

Megatron startled awake.

His internal chronometer informed him he had gotten a full recharge somehow, even though his dreams hadn’t allowed him much rest. He decided that he would go have his refuel with the others and not alone with the Prime. Megatron wasn’t sure what to make of him yet.

He was intimidating, maybe a little too serious to start the day talking to after having a dream like that. Although the laugh had been a surprise. Maybe he could get away with asking some of the others about him over the next few days to try and decide what he wanted to do.

When he entered the shared meeting room he felt bad for Grimlock who had tried to open the door for him but had only gotten in his way as he pushed it open. As he apologized for accidentally hitting him with the door Megatron felt many sets of optics on him now. He turned around and a car and a jet he recognized approached him.

Starscream spoke first. “Hm. It looks like you are still in one piece after your little meeting with Prime yesterday, _fascinating._ ”

Bumblebee scoffed and addressed him ignoring Starscream entirely. “It’s good to see you! I talked to Ratchet yesterday and he said you might like a tour of the whole campus, well at least the parts I can reach inside the barrier. I’d be happy to show you around!”

Megatron thought about accepting for a moment before he declined and made his way over to the energon dispenser in the back corner of the room. It had a small hose leading down to the ground that fed into four smaller fuel lines that could be hooked up into smaller tanks than his. He should have considered that this was how they had refitted their equipment after their “curse.”

Seeing it in person it was really quite ingenious, he was about to ask who had made it when Bumblebee spoke. “Uh sorry I just realized you can’t use the energon dispensers in here, there’s the private one in your room or perhaps the larger one in Optimus’s suite I can take you to.”

Megatron raised a brow ridge at that and Bumblebee realized his mistake as his engine made a small squawk. They were obviously trying to push him to socialize with the Prime. The question was why?

He suspected at least one bot would be willing to tell him, so he singled out Starscream. “I can refuel in my own quarters, it’s fine. I was actually coming here to see if Starscream wanted to enjoy the weather out on the veranda with me, it was beautiful yesterday so I suspect it will be today as well.”

The mirrors on either side of Bee’s windshield drooped as he muttered “oh” and Starscream’s cockpit visibly puffed out triumphantly as he coyly responded. “Of course I would _love_ to accompany you, lead the way.”

Megatron shrugged and made sure to give Grimlock enough room to open the door for him this time instead of just opening it himself again. He walked up the stairs as Starscream flew behind his head too closely. When they reached the outside promenade the suns were once again shining high in the sky overhead. Starscream let out a contented keen as he soared straight up into the air, reached the pinnacle of the citadel, then dropped back down several stories in a dead drop before loudly engaging his jets, just before hitting the ground.

Megatron watched him with interest as the seeker lazily approached him. “I miss the vastness of the sky. I can’t quite soar through it anymore but this is better than nothing I suppose. What was it you wanted to ask me that you weren’t sure Bumblebee would answer?”

Starscream was entirely too clever. He found himself giving him a half smile. “It’s about the Prime obviously. What I’m most curious about is why everyone I’ve talked to, except you, seems to be pushing me to socialize with him?”

He snorted and did a lazy barrel roll through the air before coming to land on the railing overlooking the bright blue dome of the sky. “Is that all? How disappointing. Well that’s relatively easy to answer, even _Humblebee_ probably would have told you if you’d asked. It’s because of Onyx Prime’s prophecy.”

“When he made Optimus Prime he declared that the Prime would become a tyrant and bring around the end of Cybertron if he didn’t learn to love and have someone love him in return. It’s why he hasn’t ever left here even though he can move through the barrier unlike the rest of us. He’s terrified of failing and becoming even more of a monster.”

Megatron paused for a beat. At first he wasn’t sure what this prophecy had to do with him before it clicked.

_Oh._

Optimus Prime had known all the bots in the citadel before he received the Matrix and wasn’t close with any of them, except maybe Bumblebee and Ratchet, but this was meant to be a sort of romantic love as well as a friendship. And now everyone left in the Crystal City was hoping he was the one foretold to break their curse and set them free.

 _Primus_.

Falling in love was the last thing on his mind at the moment, and it cast his first conversation with the Prime in a completely different light. It was both less ominous and more worrying. He didn’t have time for a relationship and he certainly couldn’t save anyone here with his love.

But Starscream didn’t need to know how much it was now bothering him. “Oh is that what everyone isn’t saying? I thought it would be something more, I don’t know, sinister. I have other things to worry about than mending the Prime’s broken spark.”

Starscream’s jets flared angrily. He didn’t take off back into the air as he snarled at him. “Oh? Important like sitting here all day and writing away on your little datapad? Are you some sort of scholar, is that how you think you’ll save the world? With words?”

Megatron responded heatedly as well. “Have you been spying on me? If you must know I’m a writer and a poet. I’m a part of a movement of like minded reformers and revolutionaries. Writing is one of the most important things we can do. It is a direct line to people’s sparks and minds. If enough of us admit the truth of this society then we can change it.”

Starscream hissed from his perch on the railing. “Words are all well and good when pitted against words but what chance do they really stand against a government backed by laser rifles and fusion cannons?”

This was a point others had been making more and more often now and he was starting to agree with them. Yet he wasn’t quite there at the moment. “Words are the start of any change. Action, especially violent action, is a last resort and should be used with restraint.”

Starscream’s engines roared on and off in a screeching parody of a cackle. “You sound just as pathetic as Bumblebee, and by proxy Optimus Prime. Perhaps you’ll end up saving us after all.”

At that he took off, did one more large loop through the sky, and headed off back indoors while snickering.

Megatron tried to ignore the looming sense of unease he now felt.

While this place was one of the safest on the planet for him right now it didn’t mean it was actually all that safe. He futilely checked his datapad for a response from Impactor but there still wasn’t one waiting for him. He was giving him a very cold shoulder.

Ex-venting hard he walked over to the railing encircling the veranda and let his optics wander far into the distance. He couldn’t see it but beyond the Sea of Rust was Kaon. A more corrupt city you would be hard pressed to find. Yet he knew he might find allies there, had thought about going there instead. Unfortunately he also suspected that the mechs there would be just as likely to sell him out to the highest bidder as help him. There were sympathetic people out there, bots who suffered first hand under their current regime, who would help him. He had to find them first.

It was then that he realized help might be right under his nose. The mechs here might be a good place to start recruiting allies.

Of course they wouldn’t be of much help transformed as they were and trapped within the citadel. But maybe if he talked to the Prime about what had happened they could all work together to fix it and set everyone, not just the cursed bots here, free. Because even though they had all been trapped together for 500 years it almost seemed as if none of them had really talked to Optimus Prime about what could be done.

Either out of fear or hopelessness they had been avoiding him and he had been purposefully avoiding them as well. Now both parties were trying to push Megatron to help. Maybe he could without having to deal with all that prophecy nonsense about true love or something.

He wasn’t sure where to start or who to start with but he felt a new sense of purpose and was less bothered by Impactor’s silence. If he couldn’t count on old friends he would make new ones.

Megatron took out his datapad and began composing a forum post. He was going to call a meeting of minds, digitally of course, and he was going to invite everyone with even a bit of curiosity about revolution and also everyone in the castle to attend. His post was succinct and precise with a set of proposed dates and times and a survey link. He sent the invite first to Bumblebee on his personal hailing frequency. He got an immediate response that he wasn’t expecting.

_Bee: While I would love to join in none of us have access to the cybernet here. I assumed you had some device to access it but I didn’t want to bother you for it, although others were eager to try and take it from you. Not for any malicious reason against you but because they want to know what has happened to those they left in the outside world._

_We suspect Optimus’s mirror lets him access the cybernet but we’ve never asked him for access to it. We have an internal network here though, we can access all of the citadel’s files so the scientists are still able to work and uh I’m pretty sure Ironhide has watched the same four holovids we have in the entertainment file like seventy times each. He could probably quote them in his recharge._

This shouldn’t have shocked him and yet he was stunned for several minutes. When he responded it was curt.

_Megatron: I see. Well then the first thing we will need to do is see if we can re-establish everyone’s connections. I will ask Optimus Prime for assistance in this. Perhaps all of us could have some sort of round table meeting later?_

Bee seemed to be thinking as he took longer than the first time to respond.

_Bee: Oh! That’s a great idea! I’ll go get everyone to start preparing right now. We can meet in the grand dining hall. It’s on the ground floor straight past the entryway to the east. If you need a guide I can send one of the speedsters, maybe Arcee?_

Megatron was pretty sure he could find the dining all on the first floor. Although he did want a chance to talk to all the tower residents individually to gauge their perspectives on his ideas.

_Megatron: I actually would appreciate a guide. I’ll be out here on the west veranda until someone comes to get me._

Bee responded with a friendly affirmative ping and Megatron decided to write some more while he waited. He folded up into himself, with his legs crossed, and leaned back against the railing.

Poetry was something he could always come home to. It helped him to untangle his emotions when his mind was in turmoil. He’d spent most of his life with his mind in turmoil so writing had been a constant retreat. Some of his writing was simply about the feelings of being alive but most of it was revolutionary like Crest_Azular’s songs. He could turn any phrase or line to rebellion quickly, which was why both the Senate and the Functionist Council were after him now.

Megatron smiled to himself grimly as he began to write in a quick burst.  

 

_At city entry stations, you may see them as you pass,_

_there are signboards on the platform saying "Wait here disposable class,"_

_And to me the whirr and thunder and the cluck of the running-gear_

_Seem to be forever saying "Second class wait here,_

_Wait here second class_

_second class wait here.”_

_Seem to be forever saying, "Disposable class wait here.”_

 

_Yes, the disposable classes were waiting in the days of warlord and Prime,_

_And the disposable classes are waiting, they've been waiting the entire time,_

_There are statues of Primus in the background, the line to enter is bare and drear,_

_Yet they wait beneath a signboard, sneering: "Second class wait here."_

 

_There's a transformed train, with Mortilus for driver, that is ever going past;_

_There will be no class compartments when it's "all aboard" at last_

_For the long white jasper platform with the Allspark in the rear;_

_And there won't be any signboards, saying "Disposable class wait here."_

He was so absorbed in writing he didn’t notice the sleek low-riding pink speedster until she nearly ran into his knee while honking loudly. He startled and fumbled his datapad back into his subspace while looking down at the idling car in alarm.

When she spoke her voice was rough and quiet. “I could have ripped your spark out ten different times and you would have barely noticed the way you were tapping away on that thing. It’s no good to be so unaware of your surroundings. If you are in mortal danger, like you would have all of us believe, then you’re lucky to be alive.”

He wasn’t sure exactly how to respond to that so he ex-vented and stood abruptly, motioning for her to lead the way. She let out an exasperated growl and took off at top speed through the veranda archway and down the hall. He had to jog to keep pace with her, which he hadn’t been expecting, and was a little overheated as he tried to follow her down the winding flights of stairs to the tower entrance.

She finally slowed her pace, jumping elegantly from stair to stair in quick flitting motions, and idled, waiting for him to hit the entrance landing.

He could feel her sneer even though her windshield and hood were no more expressive than any other vehicle. “That was pathetic. I was expecting you to be slow as you’re some sort of mining vehicle but even a small toy car can easily outpace you. I’m actually shocked you’re not used to running yet. When the war comes you better be ready to.”

 

He huffed indignantly and tried to snap back at her. “We shouldn’t be judged by our alt-mode’s but by our actions. Also what makes you so sure a war is coming? You don’t believe in that prophecy too do you?”

Megatron was expecting her to be surprised he knew what prophecy everyone was on about but instead she chuckled darkly at him. “I was a sacred warrior in the service of Solus Prime. I know what a coming war feels like. Everyone here has gone soft and complacent in their hopelessness. I have always known this kind of war would come again, it is inevitable, so take my advice or don’t. War will come whether you’re ready for it or not.”

 

She was incredibly old. _Several million years old_.

He was in complete awe of her.

To have lived that long a life and to have seen so much he couldn't imagine it. Even though all bots hoped to have such long lives, under their current government very few did. It took a second for her words to sink in fully as he was still reeling from that revelation. There was suddenly so much he suddenly wanted to ask her.

Instead he squashed down all the excited questions bubbling up for later and responded evenly. “I’ve never been good at running, as you say I have the body of mining vehicle, but I have always been good at standing my ground. Perhaps you’d be able to show me how to defend it sometime.”

Arcee began to move slowly down the east wing hallway away from him. “I could but I doubt it would do you much good without weapons modifications. And as it seems like you’ve got something other than rust up in that processor of yours maybe you could talk your way out of a war. I’ve seen in happen before.”

With that she turned a corner and disappeared into the shadows on the edges of the door to the grand dining hall.

The double doors were slightly ajar, presumably to let in the other bots who weren’t big enough to push open a door. As he approached the door opened wider and he realized Grimlock was there, his golden eyes looking up at Megatron curiously. He greeted him warmly as he entered and noticed the flurry of activity around the long table in the center of the room. It was made out of the same icy blue crystal as the walls and it had several small sets of steps leading up to the table surface so everyone could eat at the same level. The steps were made out of scrap metal and maybe some of the original walls broken up.

As he approached the table a large red rescue vehicle cruised up alongside him. “Hey I’m Ironhide. Bee told me to seat you at the right hand head of the table and I told Bee I’m not a slagging waiter so now that I’ve told you I’m out. I’ve got a more enjoyable way to spend an evening anyhow.”

With that his engine roared to life and he barreled past Grimlock out the main doors.

He watched him go, bemused. Maybe Ironhide was going to watch those same four movies over again, as Bee had lamented earlier.

Eventually he decided to do as instructed and sit at the right hand of table, albeit uneasily. Several other bots, two vehicles and jet, entered carrying trays and cylinders of energon goodies. Megatron watched as they laid the table with a tantalizing feast of fuel. Several types of oil, energex, and energon crafted into delicate finger sized goodies. Well maybe finger sized for him but he suspected one of those goodies would be a whole days meal for one shrunken bot. He'd never see so much food in his life. There was never enough to go around back on Tarn, and this sort of fancy thing, well he'd only seen stuff like this in mixed drinks at Maccadam's Oil House in Iacon. 

He was admiring their craftsmanship when he realized that all the transformed bots couldn’t even eat energon goodies.

Megatron was about to ask what was going on when the door behind the head of the table opened revealing the looming shadow of Optimus Prime. He watched him approach fluidly and gracefully sit down in the massive seat at the head of the table. Megatron wondered why he hadn’t noticed that earlier. He now had a sinking suspicion in his tanks that he’d been tricked.

Optimus Prime’s glowing blue optics eyed him warily from behind his battlemask as he sat. Megatron simply nodded in acknowledgement at him before shifting his yellow gaze back towards the beautifully crafted energon goodies and oils stacked on the table before them. Neither of them said anything for far too long.

It was utterly silent in the cavernous crystalline hall.

He practically jumped when Optimus spoke. “You know you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to. I suspected Bumblebee might have arranged this dinner under...false pretenses so you will not offend me.”

The Prime’s voice was low and raspy from disuse but the timbre of it resonated in the walls around them.

Megatron didn’t meet his optics when he spoke, instead looking at a glass of high grade energon in front of him. “Ah. Well yes I was under the impression that this would be a communal meal not uh...whatever this is.”

He cringed at his last words, he knew exactly what this was meant to be and couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Megatron had never been on a date before and he wasn’t particularly sure he wanted this to be his first experience of one.

The Prime sensed his reluctance because he looked apologetic when he spoke. “I am sorry you were misled, I will have to give Bumblebee a very stern lecture about proper protocol and,”

Megatron cut him off in alarm. “No! No, that won’t be necessary. I can talk to him myself about it no need to...reprimand him. We might as well eat while we’re here, I mean it looks like someone went to some trouble to make all of this.”

He did look at Optimus Prime then and realized his obvious fear had wounded him, his optics were dimmed with pain as he looked down at his empty plate. Megatron felt instantly bad even though he had every right to be terrified of the bot sitting next to him.

He paused for a second. Did he have that right?

To be cautious certainly, but everything he knew about the Prime was from what he had heard from the other bots, most noticeably Starscream, and his own words in their brief encounter yesterday morning. In which he had been intimidating and cryptic, more due to his formidable appearance and strange words than any noticeable violence.

Megatron deflated and slumped over his own plate, the space in between his brow ridges ached so he rubbed it self-consciously as he spoke. “I’m sorry, look why don't we start over?"

"Good evening Optimus Prime, with this veritable feast before us we should probably eat.”

With that he reached out and drank the whole glass of high grade in front of him in one powerful pull. Maybe now the Prime would follow suit.

He had to admit he was curious to see what was behind his battlemask. He imagined he had a face, some bots didn’t but he could see the bridge of his nose at the top of it. Optimus Prime must have noticed him watching out of the corner of his optics because he simply pushed the energon goodies around his plate nervously with his finger.

Megatron tried not to ex-vent in exasperation and instead focused on the spindly shining goodies before him.

They were fantastic! He scarfed down several more before looking up abruptly to see the Prime watching him with interest. Their optics met and they both froze, sat up straighter, and then looked away from each other. At least he had tried to make things less awkward but Prime was just staring at him now.

He realized his mistake because his engine sputtered. “I...I’m s..sorry I didn’t mean to stare. I don’t usually eat with others and as such I am not terribly used to company. Are you enjoying the energon confections? I think Swerve made them, he’s rather good when it comes to fuel even though his original designation was as a metallurgist.”

That caught his interest and Megatron grabbed onto the change of topic like it was a lifeline. “Oh and how do you feel about that? According to the 'Great Cybertronian Taxonomy' his alt-mode would dictate he become a scientist or medic but he’s now a chef here. Do you not ascribe to Functionist notions of a bot’s proper place then?”

The Prime furrowed his brow and took a second to think before he responded. “This might sound heretical to some, especially because of what lies heavy in my chest, but I’ve never believed that the Thirteen were divine and certainly not that your alt-mode was some sort of premonition that should dictate your path in this life.”

That was indeed heretical, especially for a Prime to say, but Megatron was now intrigued. He leaned in closer as he spoke. “I'm surprised to hear you say that, also pleased as that is how I feel about it as well. There is no divine preordained right for anyone to rule over all. Every bot should be judged on the caliber of their own ideas and character not on the circumstances of their forging.”

Optimus Prime nodded solemnly and looked directly in his optics when he responded. “Even though you know my views on the alt-modes of others it might still confound you to know I never wanted to become a Prime. This was not something I sought nor chose but something that was forced upon me. I do not think I’m fit to rule anymore than anyone else here and yet here I am somehow supposed to be their leader.”

That was indeed unexpected, and he very much did want to ask how he had been made a Prime, but could sense it was not the time. Optimus Prime didn’t know him well enough to tell him yet, as it seemed to have been a traumatic experience for him. Megatron felt like he was dancing too close to a cliff edge that led deep down into the Sea of Rust.

So he nodded thoughtfully and changed the subject. “Yes well about that, is there a reason why you seem to be the only one here able to access the cybernet? Everyone else desperately wants to know what’s going on in the world and how the people they left behind are doing out there. You seem to know far better what's happening than they do, is there a reason you haven't told them?”

It was a bad change of subject because the Prime ex-vented heavily and slumped slightly, his larger frame looking suddenly small. “I have tried many things to restore it but the only source that can reliably access the cybernet is my mirror. There is some sort of temporality field that is affecting only certain bots and objects in the citadel. For example: I can come and go as I wish but everyone else is repelled from the boundaries and unable to leave the tower grounds. As for why I haven't told them, there are many reasons but chief among them being we cannot leave so we cannot change anything out there. We are trapped here, frozen in time.”

That was troubling and once again Megatron was pleasantly surprised by him. He had been trying to do something not _just_ sit alone and brood in his tower. He was curious though about the mirror and if its abilities might be better replicated by the scientists he had met several days ago. “I don’t mean to insult you but even before you became a Prime you weren’t a scientist right? Have you tried getting the ones trapped here to help you figure out how your mirror is doing it or have you accepted it as part of this supposedly 'magic' curse you’re all under.”

Optimus Prime’s optics narrowed. “I have consulted the most brilliant scientific mind here and even he cannot ascertain how the mirror is connecting to the cybernet. You may insult my scientific prowess all you want but do not make light of the curse. It is as real as this table or the floor beneath our feet. And it is terrible.”

That managed to make him look away ashamed. He hadn’t meant to offend him but Megatron had always been a little too direct. It was why he had never dreamed of being a Senator. Well that and the fact that they were all corrupt viruses plaguing the populace. He quickly shoved two more energon goodies in his mouth and looked up to see Optimus Prime getting up from his chair.

He called out to him, trying not to choke around the fuel. “Wait! Wait! I’m...ugh..ahem sorry. I won’t make light of it again, I have seen what the curse is capable of just by looking at my new friends here. And I do respect your intelligence, I am no scientist either, it’s simply that all of you have been locked away for so long I was wondering if you’d tried absolutely everything to break out yet.”

Optimus Prime stopped and put his hands on top of the chair back, his optics thoughtful as he responded quietly. “Those first 100 years we tried everything, If I recall correctly Wheeljack was trying to dig a tunnel out somehow. There was also some sort of disturbance related to a black hole. Unfortunately we soon realized even if we could escape the forcefield we still had no way to resize everyone and unlock their alt-modes. We’ve been working on figuring out the second part for the last 500 years now. The only way for everyone to be free is to break the curse.”

He was looking at him meaningfully now and Megatron couldn’t help his spark flickering a little at the look he was giving him.

He couldn’t meet his stare when he spoke. “Well. I am certainly willing to try and help you break it, I have a device that can connect to the cybernet too. I’d be happy to ask some of my friends from around the world for help figuring out your predicament, anonymously of course.”

He heard the larger mech ex-vent slightly but when he spoke his voice was steady and rumbling. “I would appreciate any help you could render us Megatron. I have...enjoyed our meal together and my offer from before still stands. If you would like to refuel with me tomorrow morning my door is always open to you. We can discuss whatever ideas your outside friend’s might have in mind at a later time.”

And with that he turned and slid silently out the doors behind the head of the table. Megatron watched him go melt into the shadows. For someone that size he was surprisingly quiet. His whole frame had been built for warfare. Even the subtle kinds of warfare.

Megatron has to shake his head a couple times to stop that line of thought before he stared down at his plate and took one more swig of another glass of high grade before him. He wanted to take some of the exquisite energon goodies with him but he was afraid they would get smashed in his subspace compartment by his data pad or camping supplies. So he took one for the journey and headed back up the stairs to his room.

He was half expecting Bumblebee and many of the other bots to be eavesdropping outside the door but when he left the grand dining hall not even Grimlock was outside the door. In fact the whole tower was quiet as he wound around and around up the spiraling staircase leading to his room. He was going to go straight into recharge but as soon as his head hit the berth he couldn’t stop thinking about their conversation.

Megatron had misjudged him and now he was going to have to make it up to him somehow. As uninterested in “breaking the curse” in the way foretold in the prophecy as he was he still didn’t want to hurt him. He had been brutal before, as the mines of Tarn tended to make you, but he had never been cruel. As much as he was wary of it he should probably take at least one meal a day with him. And maybe they could stick to the safer topics of politics and religion rather than matters of the spark.

He tossed and turned restlessly worrying for several more hours before falling into a fitful recharge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Arcee is basically Cyclonus but with less emotional constipation in this fic. I love her! Like yes Arcee please step on me....I mean mentor me! <3 
> 
> The poem in this chapter is cribbed from Henry Lawson's "Second Class Wait Here."


	4. The Best Laid Plans

Megatron felt like scrap.

He had offlined his optics multiple times but recharge had never seemed to fully take hold. Not to mention all the high grade he wasn’t used to that he had consumed last night while trying to survive that painfully awkward meal. He knew it was morning and that Optimus Prime would be expecting his presence today, but he was exhausted.

As he sat up his head throbbed. He rested it in his hands as he tried to talk himself into getting out of the berth.

After last night’s dinner with the Prime he didn’t seem...as monstrous as he had originally believed. He was still distant and intimidating but they had talked civilly enough. Megatron suspected that they had read some of the same books as his words and cadence were similar to the ancient Cybertronian Epics. Whether he had read them before he became a Prime would be an interesting question.

Above all else Megatron was a student, when he first learned to read and write ancient Cybertronian he had wanted to become a medic like Micronus Prime or an artificer like Solus Prime. Terminus had teased him for that as he had been named after Megatronus, The Fallen. It wasn’t a nice name but the energon mines of Tarn weren’t a nice place so he had kept it. Never forgetting that his spark favored knowledge over power. Peace over tyranny.

It was his curiosity about the Prime that eventually motivated him to get up.

Groaning he made his way out the door and then slowly up the stairs. For once he was glad the the halls of the tower were darker than they should have been. He entered the West Wing with a little trepidation and tried to remind himself he had an invitation.

As he approached the heavy blue doorway in the darkened hallway he tried to talk himself into opening it. It would be fine, they had eaten together last night and the worst thing that had happened was it was awkward. So awkward he hadn’t slept well because he kept going over everything each of them had said. Round and round as he tossed and turned.

Which was silly.

He had to repeat it to himself several times before he reached out to open the door, but of course it swept inwards with a hiss of movement all on its own.

He almost had to shutter his optics as the Prime’s rooms were much brighter than before. The windows were still open and the suns shone through them hotly. There were also glowing blue lights ringed around the semi-circular room. The whole space looked more welcoming too. There were more chairs around the table and a desk by the window. Megatron mused that some art on the walls wouldn’t have looked out of place now, even though there wasn’t any just yet.

All of this had been done for his benefit then. Optimus Prime was seated in his beaten up chair at the mercurial table in the center of the room. He appeared to be reading something on a datapad.

He looked up when Megatron entered and his optics were surprised. “Ah. You came. I suppose we should refuel then. Here let me get you something.”

Megatron didn’t have time to respond as he watched the Prime scramble out of his seat and shuffle off towards the energon dispenser in the far left corner by the desk. He approached the table and sat down while fascinated.

The massive mech was trying to delicately fill two energon cubes and failing spectacularly. Holding one without spilling it in the crook of his arm wasn’t going well. He nervously sloshed some out of the cubes as he rushed back over to the table. Megatron watched him with wide golden optics.

If you had asked him several minutes ago to describe Optimus Prime he would have said foreboding, powerful, and distant, but never cute.

He placed the mostly full cube of energon in front of him painstakingly and then moved jerkily back to sit in his own seat. He noticed Megatron staring at him slightly awestruck and tried to stop his giant hands from fidgeting so obviously by picking up his cup. His battlemask quickly retracted as he took a long pull from the large magenta cube of energon.

Megatron couldn’t have stopped himself from staring if he had wanted to because behind his battlemask the Prime had a face. He hadn’t been expecting to see it. Megatron supposed he should have been as they were going to eat together but he hadn’t seen it last night when they had dinner he wasn’t expecting to see it now.

It was a handsome face too. Expressive, with a full mouth and tapered square chin. He didn’t get to stare at it as long as he would have liked because Optimus finished the cube of energon in another quick gulp and slammed his battlemask back on. He seemed to relax significantly after it was back in place.

 _Interesting_.

He snapped out of whatever strange headspace he was drifting into and conspicuously reached down and chugged his own cube of energon, while trying very hard not to stare at the bot across from him. He finished and abruptly set his empty cube back down on the table. Megatron looked up and their optics met across the table. Both of them jumped.

It was Optimus who managed to speak again. “I’m not sure if you wish to discuss it but I’ve read some of your writing and poetry.”

That got Megatron’s attention, and was a sudden, very welcome distraction. “Oh? And how do you know it’s mine? I write under many pseudonyms, only my earliest treaties were published under my own name, which is what got me into trouble in the first place.”

Optimus nodded and counted off on his fingers. “Pax-Domini and Griseo_Vulpes, also Asclepius and The Fallen. And I had a hard time verifying if it was you but there are some works by Serovinia that use your prototypical thoughtform base when analyzed carefully.”

His jaw dropped open as he stared at Optimus Prime.

There wasn’t anyone alive, or at least he thought there wasn’t, who knew all his pseudonyms. Megatron wasn’t about to tell him that he had gotten all of them right either. Especially Serovinia, as he mainly used that one to write...erotica. He wasn’t going to ask Optimus how he had found those. Not first thing in the morning anyway.

Instead he snapped his jaw shut and muttered. “Yes, well those are only my published works. What you should be asking about is what I’m currently writing.”

Optimus lit up as he rushed on. “I would assume it is your polemic, your manifesto on the injustices of our current society. At least that’s what you’ve spoken of in the forums.”

Megatron narrowed his optics. “You seem to be quite talented at research, at least when it comes to researching me. Have you put your skills to use elsewhere, perhaps into researching why the senate keeps closing down mines when there is an energon shortage on? ”

The Prime did have the grace to look abashed as he looked away. “Ah. It wasn’t entirely my doing, this mirror is an advanced AI that is very good at picking apart population patterns. It is my window to the outside world.”

“As for your question; it’s Sentinel Prime’s doing. He’s been siphoning energon from Kaon and Nyon as well as shutting down the mines to start an artificial energon shortage. He’s targeting cities with large populations of working caste poor as they are more like to be rebel sympathizers.”

Megatron stared at him speechless for several seconds before he slammed his fist on the table, it practically groaned underneath him as raised his voice in disbelief. “You knew?! You knew for a fact, had proof that this what he was up to, and you didn’t think to tell anyone!? My comrades and I have been looking for verifiable intelligence that he was behind this energon famine for years and you just sat here wallowing in misery too self absorbed to think of helping anyone but yourself. People have died because of these fuel shortages Optimus!”

The bigger mech stood his optics navy blue with fury. “And more would have died if I had told you and your revolutionaries about this. What would you have done? Attempted an assassination, a coupe? He is the ordained Prime and has the full force of the Senate and the Council behind him, what do you think you or I could do to him stop him? Even if we fought, and I killed him, Cybertron doesn’t need any more Primes.”

Megatron snarled in disgust and shoved his chair back hard, it fell as he stood to leave. “Well that much we agree on! Even one Prime is one too many!”

He made sure to stomp his feet angrily all the way to the door. He wasn’t planning to look back but as he turned to leave out the doorway he saw him out the corner of his optics. The Prime was hunched over clutching his head and chest so hard his fingers were digging into the plating enough to dent it.

Megatron didn’t want to feel guilty as he stormed down the stairs out of the West Wing.

He was righteously angry and he wanted to stay that way.

His thoughts were racing to all the miners he had personally watched starve to death. Shutdown permanently from lack of proper fuel. All so that the rest of them could have a meager enough ration to survive towards the end, before they officially closed the Tarnian mines. Hollowarm, Tiltback, and eventually Terminus. And those were just the ones he knew personally who’d been snuffed out for the sake Sentinel’s greed. This Prime had known, had known and done nothing. Just like all the other Councilmen and Senators who must have known as well.

He was no better than the rest of the rusting lot of them.

His energon was boiling in his lines and he very much wanted to punch Optimus Prime.

That was, of course, not an option.

He needed to find Arcee.

He sent a short com to Bumblebee asking what her hailing frequency was and Bumblebee did him one better and told him where to find her. She apparently spent most of her time in the training arena. He was a little surprised the tower had one as it was mostly full of scientists and Senators.

Megatron followed Bumblebee’s directions and descended below the tower into the ground. Apparently the whole building was mirrored and there were just as many rooms below ground as there were above. Which was more than a little unnerving, he hadn’t explored all the rooms in the upper citadel let alone anything down below.

Who knew what was down there, well other than Arcee.

The training arena was expansive, easily stretching out underneath the boundaries of the citadel courtyard into the city. There was a smooth paved track and a large ring of packed dirt in the middle of it. He wondered briefly where the forcefield was and if it stretched underground before looking out onto the training track and remembering that Optimus had said Wheeljack had tried to tunnel out before. That of course brought his thoughts back to Optimus’s other words and he saw magenta again trying not punch a hole in the wall.

That’s what the _he_ would have done and he wasn’t stooping to _his_ level, not yet anyway.   

Arcee was racing around the smooth gray track at top speed, she had set up some sort of obstacle course and was dodging all the obstructions fluidly. Her small pink frame slipped past, over, and around any of the spikes, ramps, and nets that were in her way. It took him a minute to notice she wasn’t just avoiding the traps she was slicing through them.  

A thin line of molten silver sizzled out from both her side doors out past her mirrors and was cutting expertly through everything she passed. It was incredible. She had altered her toy sized alt-mode to be able to carry plasma swords, proportional ones, but Megatron wasn’t going to take his chances against them.

He was still slightly starstruck over her.

They had called the two classes of Solus Prime’s private guard the Sword Hand and the Shield Arm. Megatron didn’t need a guess to figure out which branch Arcee had been a part of. All the warriors who served her had been forged in her image, their frames built for lithe power and glorious creation. Transformers came in many genders, as it was something found in one’s brain module not ones body, but the majority of Solus’s guard used her pronouns.

They were legends, Megatron had only heard of them in the Epic Poems. In fact if he went back and reread them he could probably find some written specifically about Arcee. He had so many questions he wanted to ask her, she had seen all sorts of amazing things in her long life, but he was still angry.

He raised his voice so it would reach her down on the track even though he was quite sure the warrior hand already noticed his arrival. “It’s impressive that you can still hold a sword trapped in that form. I was hoping perhaps you could teach me how to as I am still no good at running.”

The sleek pink racer revved her engines and drove towards him. “I don’t know about that, you seem to be running from something as we speak otherwise you wouldn’t be down here.”

He bit his lip at that. She was right but he didn’t want to talk about it. “Your perception, no doubt honed over millions of years of battle, is once again spot on but that’s not really why I’m here. I do genuinely want to learn to defend myself and you are certainly the strongest and most skilled bot in the citadel.”

Arcee flicked a windshield wiper up skeptically at that before snapping it back down. “For your purposes you’d be better off training with Ironhide, he’s more your speed and he used to be your size. My fighting style is made for smaller, faster mechs.”

Megatron wasn’t about to give up learning to fight from one of Solus Prime’s warriors though. “You’re right! I’m all fists and no grace right now but that’s why I want to learn. Show me how to use a sword or a shield or javelin or something! Please? I really do need to stab something right now.”

She seemed to consider it before sighing heavily, her whole hood shaking in a light chuckle. “Fine. You want to be a warrior, Poet, I can try to make you one. You won’t like it though. That anger you’re burning up with now you have to hone it, forge it, turn it into something cold and sharp. Rage can fuel you but it can also burn you alive. The Prime has learned that lesson the hard way.”

Megatron was trying not to think about Optimus Prime, everyone wanted to tell him exactly what they thought of him though. He gritted his teeth and nodded. “I understand and I will try. Show me and I will do exactly as you say.”

Arcee let out a bark of laughter at that before shaking her chassis back and forth. “You are going to regret those words Young Poet. But you can add it to your list as it is not your first, nor will it be your last, regret.”

He wondered briefly if everyone in the tower just talked like an Epic Ode to mess with him before shaking his helm and nodding in agreement. Arcee activated something in the arena and several stuffed targets shaped like life sized transformers appeared in the center of the ring. A hole opened up next to him and a rack with all sorts of bladed weapons appeared out of the ground. He reached out excitedly to pick up a greatsword and stopped when he felt a sting slice across the top of his hand. Arcee had flown past him, jumping up onto the rack and sliced his hand before he could even grasp the hilt of the sword.

She chided him. “We don’t start with sharpened blades. And you won’t be ready for that sword for a long time. It is a greatsword that feeds off one’s spiritual energy and can only be used by someone who knows their own spark completely. Your weapon is the crystal stave. Take it and assume the first position stance, feet spread wide, shoulders squared with the target, stave held firmly in both hands.”

He did as she instructed, at least he thought he had until he felt her bumper nudging his feet further apart, her soft voice clucking disapprovingly until he moved into a better position. He could feel the difference too. The stance she guided him into was more grounded and less likely to throw him off balance when he struck out with the stave. Then she was jumping up his legs to his chest and down his arms to correct his hands’ position on the stave. She moved them farther apart so he could get a more fluid thrust.

Then jumped back to the ground spinning around in a circle to face him. “Alright that is as good as you’re going to get for now. It’s time to strike, thrust the stave out towards the center of the target, where the spark would be, shift your shoulders and put the power of your thighs behind it.”

He tried to do everything she had just told him but it was a lot and his first thrust glanced off. He grunted and squared up again. The second was better but still didn’t sink into the target’s chest like it should of. He reset his positioning and tried again and again. He got it right after about two dozen tries and the stave sunk deep into the center of the target.

Arcee revved her engine approvingly. “Good. Now retrieve your weapon and do it again. You’re going to do it just like that until you can do it without your optics, without even thinking about it.”

“I like that you don’t give up easily Young Poet, you’re going to need that tenacity in the times to come.”

She had him stab that target hundreds of times, perfectly, before she taught him another stance. They must have been down there for hours, switching back between practicing the first stance and the second, because by the time she told him to stop it felt like his arms were going to fall off. He wasn’t sure he could climb all the stairs to get back up to his quarters. He had just spent most of the day fighting in one way or another and hadn’t recharged well the night before.

It had been too long a day.

He thought about asking Arcee if there was an easier route back to his habsuite but she had already disappeared by the time he made it up the lower level stairs. He was surprised to see Ratchet sitting at the bottom of the staircase, a large cube of energon balanced on top of his white cab.

When he approached warily the medic addressed him huffily. “Arcee said you’d probably need this to get back up to your room. I don’t know what you were thinking doing all of that with an insufficient recharge and on only one refuel. From now on if you train with her you drink at least six cubes a day.”

Megatron was exhausted but not quite exhausted enough not to notice Ratchet knew he hadn’t recharged well the night before. He didn’t have the energy to fight with him though so he took the energon and downed the whole cube in one gulp.

Ratchet let out a frustrated grunt. “Just what this place needs, another stubborn, hard headed warrior.”

Megatron let out a low chuckle at that. “Don’t worry Arcee has assured me I’ll never be a proper warrior, so you’ve just got a stubborn, hard headed poet to deal with instead.”

Ratchet sighed but didn’t say anything as Megatron began to methodically scale the staircase. His whole frame was shaking a little after each step up. He was halfway back to his habsuite before he realized Ratchet was still with him, shadowing his steps even though he knew the stairs were hard for the medic.

When they finally made it to the landing leading down to his his habsuite he turned to medic quietly. “Thank you. I appreciate you making sure I didn’t fall down sixteen flights of stairs back into the subterranean levels, and for the energon.”

Ratchet “hurumphed” at him but still waited and watched him as he made it safely to his door and went inside. As he shut the door he heard a faint “You’re welcome.” He knew he should probably use the wash rack after all that training but he could barely stand let alone shower, he would worry about the state of his plating later.

As soon as his head hit the slab he was in full recharge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And things were going so well! Aww shucks! But I have to make them work for it a little, also it's going to be totally worth it when they do get together trust me. I kinda wish ya'll could see what is going on on Optimus's end because it's hilarious. He's got confidants too and is fretting over what to do or say to Megs but for him it was love at first sight so he's a bit of a mess. I might write a companion fic to this with snippets of OPs woes lol. 
> 
> Also Arcee! She's great I love her and she turns out to be a good teacher for Megatron and a good friend. That's one thing I'm adamant about, Megatron having friends here, I want him to rely on others sometimes. Unlike Optimus who thinks he is all alone but is surrounded by friends, Megatron was actually mostly alone surrounded by enemies. 
> 
> This is the last chapter I'm posting for this for awhile. I'm at 30k total right now and I probably need about 10-15k more to finish this to my liking. There has to be the library scene, the ballroom dancing scene, and the final battle after all this is Beauty and the Beast. ;)


	5. The Calm Before The Storm

He woke up feeling awful again but this time it was because of having practiced stave techniques almost all day yesterday and not a lack of recharge. It wasn’t only all that unexpected exercise that was wearing on his circuits though. 

Megatron was still angry.

His rage had burned through his lines like an inferno and had left nothing but smoldering white ash in its wake. He felt empty. It wasn’t a good feeling and he needed something, anything, to distract him for sinking into it and disappearing.

He went to the corner of the room, wincing at the pain in his shoulders and thighs, and poured himself two cubes of energon. The ache in the joints of his plating was a good distraction but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to train with Arcee, as much as he wanted to, today. She could have probably shown him some stretches that would help but he didn’t think he could get down all those stairs in this state.

But he knew if he just sat around all day and wrote he would be even stiffer and sorer tomorrow than he was already.

He quickly checked his post on the forum calling for a consortium of minds to meet somewhere safe on the cybernet already had 300 comments. He hadn’t talked to anyone in the citadel about joining him in that meeting yet so he wasn’t ready to respond to any of the bots online who wanted more details about what he was planning.

That was his mission for the day, to gauge as many people’s interest as he could. He could have gone to the meeting room and talked to several dozen of the mechs there at once but he wanted to try a more personalized approach. Even though his whole frame was sending his HUD cable stress warnings he did want to see more of the citadel so he pinged Ratchet and asked him if he would show him the laboratories and medical facilities. He seemed suspicious of his motives at first.

**Ratchet: Why would you want a tour of those? You’re not injured after that silly scrap you pulled yesterday with Arcee are you?**

_ Megatron: No, well nothing more than a few aches that should go away if I don’t overdo it today. I’ll be honest I want to meet the scientists here properly and the other medics. As I have only met you and Starscream thus far. While I am sure you an excellent example of the quality of the medical corps here, I’m also sure Starscream is not quite the best example of what all the scientists here are like. _

**Ratchet: Well, you’re at least right about. I can show you around. Meet me at the landing outside your floor.**

He followed his instructions and sure enough Ratchet was waiting for him on the landing.

Ratchet must have had an easier time going down stairs rather than up as he led Megatron three floors down to the floor with multiple labs. Megatron tried not to groan with every step, and by the second set of stairs he was hurting a little less. When they reached the first large double doors on that level Ratchet pinged Wheeljack and started to rev his engine impatiently when he didn’t immediately buzz them in.

Frustrated, he turned to Megatron. “Can you press the intercom button, it’s been so long since anyone has used it the sound should snap everyone out of whatever science induced fugue state they’re all in so they can answer the slagging door.”

Megatron tried not to grin, the medic was starting to grow on him. He pressed the silver button next to the door frame and waited a second for a response.

When they didn’t immediately buzz them in Ratchet must have pinged Wheeljack again because all of sudden he was screaming at his com or the door. “What do you mean something important is on fire!!!”

The large doors slid open and Megatron wondered briefly if they used the same system as the Prime’s door before he fully took in the scene before him.

Something important was indeed on fire. That something just so happened to be Brainstorm.

The other bots were all ground vehicles and were chasing after him as he looped and dipped erratically through the air. Ironhide was in the corner fighting with a small hose that was shooting thick ropes of foam all over the place. There was a lot of loud screaming, a good portion of it coming from the red microscope that wasn’t able to move from his seat on the desk.

Megatron was pretty sure Brainstorm was the only one who wasn’t screaming and that was somehow the most worrying part.

Ratchet squealed into the room calling out to Wheeljack. “Where is the fire suppression foam!?”

Wheeljack was the one trying to shoot Brainstorm with some sort of gun strapped to his small white hood and he didn’t bother responding as he fired the gun at Brainstorm. The blinding white beam that hit Brainstorm froze his back thrusters solid in steaming block of ice, putting out the fire.

Incidentally also causing him to drop out of the air.

 

Perceptor screamed “Catch him!” as Megatron’s hands shot out to grab him before he could hit the floor. He managed to get ahold of the Jet with both hands and everyone in the room seemed to ex-vent in unison. 

Now that the immediate crisis was averted he noticed the other bots there. A teal speedster with orange stripes that appeared to have a purple deep sea submarine strapped to the roof, a fire rescue vehicle Megatron recognized as Ironhide, and a small teal and red exploration submarine sitting on the desk panels close to Perceptor. 

 

Ironhide managed to shut off the spurting foam hose with his front wheels as he spoke to Wheeljack first. “I almost had the foam nozzle under control you know, now you’re gonna have to thaw him out and it’ll probably take a while. He will be insufferable the whole time.”

Perceptor cut in. “He’s insufferable all the time. Put him down over here next to me so I can calculate the proper application of heat to get him out of that ice.”

Brainstorm’s voice was shaky when he responded from Megatron’s hands. “P..p..Percy all y.y.you ha..ve to do is k..k.kiss me and a..ll this w.w.wwill melt a.way.”

As Megatron gently lowered him to the work table next to Perceptor he heard him mumble affectionately “Come here you silly aft.”

He quickly did a reassessment of what he had originally thought their relationship might be as he carefully set Brainstorm down. He took a step back and tried not to step on anyone who was still on the floor. Most of them had moved up the ramps to the side of the room back up to the tables where a variety of experiments appeared to be running.

Or at least what he imagined where experiments, as he had never been in a science lab before.

What he wouldn’t have given to study at the Academy in Iacon, any subject at all, as he toiled down under several miles and several thousand tons of rock. At least his first experience in one had been memorable.

Ratchet growled and addressed him. “Megatron, you know Wheeljack, Perceptor, and that bolthead, the teal speedster is Velocity, she’s hauling around the purple submarine Nautica, and that other sub on the counter is Nickel. Oh and this is Ironhide.”

Ironhide protested. “He already knows who I am, also why the hell do I get introduced like that? Oh that red rescue vehicle over there, the one who was about to put out a fire like he’s trained to do, oh that’s nobody important.”

This seemed like an old argument between the two as Ratchet sighed loudly. Wheeljack interrupted whatever fight was about to start. “Sorry about the mess and uh fire Megatron, hope we didn’t make too bad of a first impression as the only scientists and medics here.”

That was unexpected, much like his first glimpse of a lab. He had thought this was supposed to be a science outpost. Megatron wondered if they had been short shifted the day Optimus Prime had been reforged.

He tried not to grind his teeth thinking of the Prime and instead asked. “Is it always like this? I’ll admit my ignorance as I’ve never been in a science laboratory before.”

The red and teal sub, Nickel laughed. “Oh yeah, this is a representational example of what it’s like in here most days. I’d like to believe it’s because none of us have hands but then I remember what it was like when we did and honestly Brainstorm was on fire a lot then too.”

Wheeljack and Perceptor started fighting over how much heat to apply to Brainstorm’s frozen tail end and Velocity wheeled her and Nautica over to Brainstorm to scan him for injuries.

Ratchet bumped into Megatron’s foot to get his attention. Apparently he had been sending him coms after the chaos ended.

**Ratchet: Had enough of the medical and science Wing?**

_ Megatron: I was kind of hoping to watch an experiment of some kind? _

**Ratchet:  Really? That wasn’t enough of a show for you?**

_ Megatron: I mean it was exciting I’ll give them that but it didn’t seem..particularly scientific. _

**Ratchet: They never are. Come on kid, let's tell them when we’re coming by next time so they can be...hrmph more professional.**

Megatron addressed Wheeljack, Perceptor, and Brainstorm. “I can come visit again tomorrow or the next day if you’d prefer, Ratchet tells me that you might have an experiment for me to watch if I give you advance warning.”

There was a loud crack and the ice that was encasing Brainstorm’s thrusters and tail wings fell off into several separate chunks. Velocity rushed forward, some sort of instrument magnetized to her hood as she poked around Brainstorm’s back end. Wheeljack started to explain smugly to Perceptor how he had worked out how much heat to use because of the ice gun’s power components but Perceptor was ignoring him to fret over Brainstorm even though he couldn’t move. Brainstorm must have been used to this because he did the moving, dragging his wing to gently tap on the base of Perceptor’s microscope foot.

Megatron looked away and instead tried to seek out something else to focus on when Nickel called out to him. “Nautica has been working on something new, you should tell them about the energon jiggler, sub sister. You should come back and watch her run it sometime, it’s hilarious.”

The purple sub groaned. “I told you it was just a one time thing! Why do you keep asking me to do it again!”

He actually wasn’t sure he wanted to see what an “energon jiggler” looked like or worked like.

Ratchet took that as his cue to leave. “Well I think that was more than enough excitement for our guest for now. We’ll be back later this week though so think of something sufficiently impressive to show him other than the failure of our large scale fire safety protocols.”

Before they left Megatron was sure to get everyone’s hailing frequency in case they wanted to meet up outside the lab. Which they all thought was funny because they rarely left this particular room.

As he and Ratchet made their way back up stairs he turned to him. “I think I’m going to stretch my legs outside but thank you for taking me to see everyone today.”

Ratchet mumbled “don’t worry about it kid” before taking off down the hall towards the meeting room.

Megatron made the climb up to his favorite stop on the veranda level and decided to lay down out in the sunlight. He stretched out his hands under his head and offlined his optics. The suns were warm enough to heat his plating and it was helping a bit with all the aches, although if he stayed on the crystal floor too long he’d develop some new ones.

Suddenly the feel of the light changed and he onlined an optic to see the small dark shadow of Starscream covering his face while the seeker hovered above his head.

“He’s watching you in that mirror of his you know, brooding up there over whatever little spat you two had yesterday.” Starscream’s tone was bored.

Megatron scowled at that. “I don’t care what he does as it will most likely be ‘sit alone and do nothing.’ You’re the one who's been watching and following me when I come out here.”

Starscream moved away from his face and Megatron winced as he was suddenly starting straight into the two suns.

The jet snickered as he moved out of Megatron’s line of sight. “Oh you’re about the most interesting thing here right now and that’s not saying much. Can you blame a bot for being curious?”

Megatron sat up at that. “Why are you though? Do you want to ask me to look up someone or something you knew before all this happened to you? You were a seeker of Vos right?”

Starscream’s engines whined as he alighted onto the railing at optic level with Megatron who was still sitting on the ground. “Ah so you’ve been curious about me too, yes I was once a seeker of Vos, but like you I wanted to be something else than what everyone thought I was. I came here to study quantum science and did learn it. I also met my conjunx after both of us became lab partners."

"Then the during the longest night of the year five hundred years ago I was alt-mode locked and shrunken down while I could do nothing but watch my love die at the hands of the new Optimus Prime.”

Megatron cringed at that. “I’m sorry for your loss. I hate how everything keeps coming back to him, he’s awful.”

Starscream sighed in amusement. “He’s a literal menace. It’s nice to finally talk to someone who agrees with my  _ very _ correct opinions.”

Megatron hadn't noticed his entrance, as Bumblebee pulled up along Megatron’s side as he spoke. “Oh? And what opinions would those be Star? Hmmm? How about how you thought collapsing a micro star in the under levels would be a good way to escape the force field hmm?”

Starscream’s engine screeched and he flitted down towards Bumblebee off the railing ledge. “You’ll never let that go will you?! It would have worked if Wheeljack hadn’t turned off the black hole containment too soon. Yes it ended up destroying the lower labs **BUT** it would have created a very big hole to get us out of here.”

Bee hopped up on his back wheels lunging at Starscream as he sped past him. “If it had failed while holding the space bridge open it would have sucked this whole area, and all of us, into nothingness. And Wheeljack was pretty sure it was gonna do that and kill us all so turning it off ‘too early’ was preferable.”

Starscream did an exaggerated loop-de-loop back towards Bumblebee. “Oh please! He’s being dramatic, it might have just slipped us into a parallel dimension. Besides at this point I wish it had killed us. Being stuck here with all of you is a fate worse than death.”

Bumblebee was quiet when he answered. “You don’t really mean that.”

Starscream sighed and sunk down towards the ground, level with Bee’s hood. “I’m miserable, is that what you want to hear? I’m a bitter widow whose sulking is only slightly less annoying than Optimus Prime’s because I’ve actually lost someone. I hate it here.”

Bee moved forward and gently tapped Starscream’s nose cone with his bumper. “I’m so sorry Star, we all are, yes even Optimus. I know you don’t want to hear it but all of us do care about you, whether you care about us or not.”

Starscream let his nose cone rest against Bee as he muttered. “I have no idea why you’re being so nice to me because I don’t care about you, I don’t care about anything anymore.”

Megatron looked away as Bumblebee’s engine rumbled comfortingly. He was new here but this seemed far too intimate an exchange for him to be witnessing. He didn’t want to interrupt them but he also no longer felt comfortable just sitting there next to them. He cleared his vocalizer and scooted away from them before standing. When they started to move to face him he blurted out “no no it’s fine I’ll come back later” before he fled.

He had never really been intimate with someone like that, oh sure he’d read about it in books but the other miners rarely touched him with kindness or comfort. For mutual pleasure sure, but really the only people he hugged regularly were Terminus, gone now, and Impactor who might as well be gone for all he seemed to care about him.

It made him uncomfortable to see it so openly here but there was nothing wrong with it.

Megatron just wasn’t used to it.

He'd thought about holding Impactor at times, they had tried kissing once but it didn’t really work out. They weren’t those type of friends and they weren’t lovers. Which was what those exchanges had seemed like to him. He had seen several couples draw comfort from one another today and he now had to deal with why that made him so anxious.

Megatron decided it was because of lack of exposure to that type of affection and not any feelings of loneliness he might have as he made his way back to his habsuite. He sent out coms to everyone he had met in the science lab today asking if they’d like to a part of his consortium and everyone’s responses were positive except for Ironside’s which was just “That sounds as boring as watching paint jobs dry, why would I want to do that?” and Megatron wasn’t sure how to answer that so he didn’t.

Today had been mostly a success, even though he felt a knot forming in his throat when he started thinking about never really being held. Other than that today was good and he had to keep meeting new bots and making friends. That was how he was going to deal with this new awareness of being alone. Just form alliances and forget all about that annoyingly vague prophecy.

He’d be fine.

Megatron wanted to recharge because he was exhausted but the sense of restlessness wouldn’t leave him. If he couldn’t seek out anyone here for a comforting ear he might as well try the forums.

It was time for him to finally reach out to Crest_Azular as an ally. They had been liking and commenting on each other’s posts for a long time and Crest had sent him several private messages in the past. Mostly to talk philosophy and rhetoric but sometimes just to complain about individual injustices they had witnessed. He knew they worked for a Senator as a courier but that they spent their free time organizing protests, marches, and boycotts so they weren’t attached to their current position. He also knew they had been living on the streets until recently. They had been keenly interested in his life as miner as well. 

In fact he wasn’t sure why he had held back with them before now. He sent them a private invite to a secure server to speak in. They responded quickly in text form, explaining they preferred to chat that way rather than aloud. Megatron was direct and usual.

**_Pax-domini: You know who I am and what I stand for. I want to bring you in closer to my plans but I’d like to know your name, at least, first._ **

_ Crest_Azular: My name and designation are unimportant but if you must know I am Soundwave, using he/him. My designation is cassette-bearer. Does that disgust you? I have several cassettes, they are my family. Everything that I do, I do so that they may have a better life. They saved mine, it is the only right thing to do. _

**_Pax-domini: No it doesn’t disgust me, if anything it makes me see that your conviction is greater than my own. I write so that everyone can one day be free but the only person I was potentially endangering with my actions was myself, until recently. I too now have bots I would call a family and I doubly respect position now. It is a honor to meet you Soundwave._ **

_ Crest_Azular: I...am not used to this response to my designation. There are other things about me that are...deviant according to The Functionist Council. The Senator I work for shields me from the worst of it but for how much longer I cannot say. The system is irreparably broken, the only way I can ensure my family is allowed to live is to destroy it. It is my sincerest hope that you feel the same way, Megatron. _

**_Pax-domini: I do, although I would prefer the revolution to be peaceful. But I understand if that is no longer an option. I have recently acquired knowledge that Sentinel Prime has been behind the energon famine, I don’t have irrefutable proof but I will try to acquire it soon. Our entire leadership is corrupt and perhaps the best way to start again would be to remove it. I don’t have a specific plan in that regard yet but I hope all of us can come to some sort of agreement during the consortium I’m holding soon._ **

_ Crest_Azular: A peaceful revolution has always been impossible when one side is starving workers and the other side are wealthy despots. I respect all life but sometimes that is not enough to end the killing. I will of course attend you consortium of minds and present my position. I look forward to meeting you more in person and to our continued conversations. _

They spoke then about their friends who they now considered family. It was...nice. Megatron was trying very hard not to reveal too much about where he was or who he was talking about but Soundwave seemed happy enough to share about his cassettes. He had never met a cassette-bearer but he had read about them. His opinion remained unchanged: everyone was essential, there was no such thing as a disposable class to him.

It was easy to speak to him, they had a lot in common, as he had previously suspected. All those feelings of being slightly out of his element from earlier evaporated. They spoke late into the night and Megatron was finding it hard to keep his optics on as he finally said goodnight and logged off.

Having another ally, one who was outside this cursed tower, gave him the peace of mind he needed to finally fall into recharge. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter in which Brainstorm is a literal flaming gay.
> 
> This is kind of a bit of a filler chapter I'll admit, it is shorter as well my apologies. But we get to meet Soundwave! And chapter 6 and 7 are massive honking affairs to make up for it. 
> 
> Also a lot of drama and some satisfying smooching and smut to come I promise. ;)


	6. When the Levee Breaks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW/CW for self injurious behavior, mentions/discussion of past rape/sexual assault, suicidal ideation
> 
> See the notes at the end of the chapter for further elaboration if you need to know what exactly those TWs are for even though it contains spoilers.

 

Megatron was fine for the first couple of weeks.

He kept visiting the Science Wing to socialize with the medics, scientists, and engineers. Nautica relented and showed him the mysterious “energon jiggler” which turned out to be a large centrifuge in which Nautica had once trapped her and Velocity. Both of them going round and round until they had purged their tanks and painted the inside of the spinning chamber in fascinatingly disgusting magenta splatter art. It had kinda turned into their first date actually.

Nickel showed him her tiny knife collection and he had gotten to see Brainstorm and Perceptor collaborating on a thought capturing gun. It took a thought from your processor and then hurled it out as a physical projectile towards the wall. Different thoughts came out in different sized bullets and damage radius. They had wanted to test it on him but he had declined. He really didn’t need them to know he was thinking about their relationship.

Wheeljack was in charge of everyone somewhat even though Lotty and Nickel were technically medics under Ratchet who was the chief medical officer of the citadel. It was a relief when all of them agreed that bots should be allowed to pick their own career paths regardless of their alt-modes. That was a good place to start talking to most people about changing the system.

Megatron got to meet Swerve and explore his energon “kitchen” which was more how he had pictured a laboratory, a room full of strange boiling vats and glass tubes distilling various colored liquids. He watched him spin those energon goodies on a treadmill he powered with his front wheel drive, building them up layer by delicate layer. Swerve explained he had gotten into making goodies when he had heard a rumor Blurr liked them. And then when Blurr had tried his and enjoyed them Swerve had kept coming up with new recipes and formulations to keep seeing him. So far he was very optimistic it was working. Megatron had tried to be encouraging but he really couldn’t offer any advice, he’d never successfully courted anyone either.

He was talking on their private server with Soundwave almost every evening. He had told him he had gone to ground but not where and that he was among friends. Megatron had neglected to mention these friends were all essentially stuck as toy versions of their alt-modes which made some of his stories about them seem odd. He had also made the choice to open up about his conflicted feelings about Optimus Prime. Soundwave had been a sympathetic listener but he obviously disliked the Prime without even knowing he was one. Megatron was torn.

He had slowly been realizing that in his place he might’ve made a similar choice.

The problem was he would have never been in The Prime’s place. Their viewpoints were from fundamentally different perspectives. Optimus’s was one of power and privilege though apparently wholly lonely. Whereas he came from the disposable class, the laborers and the artisans whose crafts were being automated, and he stood surrounded by a sea of people who wanted the same thing he did. Freedom, fuel, hope for the future.

Megatron knew that he was going to have to compromise on some of his ideals, the world wasn’t an easy perfect metaphor. But that didn’t mean he had to agree with everything that was being proposed and defended around him. He felt the same way about some of Soundwave’s ideas as he did about the Prime’s. The more Megatron mentioned the Prime the more obvious it became that Soundwave was a bit...jealous.

It started out with songs that he knew were about him. Rousing ballads and foot stompers about a warrior poet and his band of freedom fighters. He was flattered if a little mortified when they turned out to be some of Crest_Azular’s most popular music posts.  

Then came _that_ song.

He had found the bar songs amusing but Crest_Azular’s newest hits’ subject matter wasn’t particularly subtle tale. It was about the revolution failing because of an ill advised love match, as one’s first love should be fighting for your fellow mech’s freedom. Megatron had confronted him after that and they had fought.

He wasn’t falling for anyone, especially not a Prime, and yet he found himself defending Optimus more than himself to Soundwave.

It made him uneasy.

He had assured Soundwave that nothing would stop him from pushing for change. Not even his conjunx endura if he ever found one. That had seemed to placate Soundwave for the moment and they slipped back into their previous easy conversations about organizing and literature. Megatron found he cared about the revolutionary songwriter. It was needling beneath his plating that he had angered him all because he wanted to see things from Optimus Prime’s perspective.

And maybe also broken his spark a little in the process.  

Unfortunately there was now a shadow over their friendship and Megatron knew it was his fault for not being able to just hate the Prime. He found himself stewing over Soundwave’s Prime shaped sticking point. His Prime shaped sticking point.

Megatron knew that this turmoil was eating up his processor so he tried to distract himself by helping others in the citadel.    

Everyone he had talked to about joining in on his consortium had also asked him about the outside world. Bots he hadn’t even met yet were contacting him to try and find out what had become of friends and family, and in the case of Ironhide, celebrities.

They also wanted to know about the state of the world since they had been in it. That had been a little harder, everyone was disappointed with how much things hadn’t changed and also how much things had.

Out of everyone Starscream seemed the most upset that his trine back in Vos had moved on without him. He admitted to leaving them to become a scientist but a part of him always thought they would just wait for him to come back. When he never did Skywarp and Thundercracker had become Senators of Vos themselves.

Ever since finding out he was in even more of a sulk than usual and Bumblebee was trying as many different methods as he could think of to snap him out of it. Most of them involved him trying to cheer up or telling the truth. Which was that they had been gone for over 500 years, did he really expect the world to wait for him? None of Bee’s methods seemed particularly effective, especially telling Starscream the truth.

One of the only mechs who hadn’t asked him to do some cybernet searches for her was Arcee.   

Megatron had been training with Arcee almost every day. She had indeed known some stretches to help him prepare for the cable wear and tear that came with doing the same motions over and over. Which had allowed him to practice more and for longer each day.

They had moved from multiple stances and positions to “moving targets.” Blue holoforms that moved and stabbed back at him like a real “combatant” would. The holoforms had various difficulty settings and sometimes Arcee liked to up the settings without telling him just to keep him on his toes. They also screeched a warning blare when they landed any hit not just a damaging or killing blow. Megatron could hear that alarm ringing in his audials in his dreams.

He had been hit with “killing blows” a lot while he tried to avoid their every move and lunge, but eventually had learned to take the lesser hits in order to land blows inside their guards. Megatron’s frame was heavy and well plated, built to help him survive a mine collapse if need be. He could take some damage before it would stop him from moving which was an advantage he didn’t know he had till now.

Arcee had approved of him playing to his strengths enough to demonstrate some of her own moves for him. His favorite was her repartee. He had never considered you could literally dis-arm someone. She took multiple avatar’s sword arm’s off at their shoulders and then showed how to do the same. Arcee used her blades but with a well placed stave driving into their shoulder joints he could could use it as leverage and rip their arms right off.

She had very casually informed him that this was the best way to fight bots with weapons built into their forearms that you couldn’t just take from them. He had smiled darkly at her and although she didn’t have a face he was sure she was smirking back at him.

After a particularly brutal sparring session he had asked to quit early to refuel. He was getting ready to leave when she had stopped him. He had been listening to Ratchet and drinking twice as much energon as he usually would so he poured himself another cube and waited for her. He thought she might want to correct his form or let him know a better way of executing a move but she surprised him by asking about someone.

“Young Poet...could you...could you, if it is not too much trouble, could you look up Moonracer for me?”

Megatron was sitting on one of the polished metal benches built into the walls of the training arena and he raised a brow ridge at the request as he finished off his last cube of energon. “Certainly. Would you mind telling me who she is, I’ll have better luck finding information on her if I know more about her.”

Arcee sighed painfully. “She’s my wife, or more likely was once my wife, we haven’t spoken since I was stationed here. Moonracer didn’t want me to come, said she had an ominous feeling about this place. I doubt it comforted her to know she was right.”

“I don’t expect her to have waited for me to return someday. And truthfully I didn’t want to know in case she had, or even worse, in case something has happened to her while I’m trapped here unable to protect her, or die in battle alongside her.”

“Not that she really needs me to protect her. We may not be wives anymore but we will always be Shield Sisters, she is as deadly as any of us who served Solus. That is if she is even still alive. I didn’t want to know but now...things are different now. I think our situation can finally change so I’m allowing myself to know. Please?”

Megatron was slightly stunned, he nodded in a daze and took his datapad out of his subspace to search for Arcee’s Moonracer.

She was surprisingly easy to find, and once he began to read about her he realized that he had met her in cyberspace before. Moonracer wasn’t a Senator but she was almost as popular as one, which definitely chafed at the ruling body. She had become the guild master for the Mercenary Corps, a group of bots that had unionized to better sell out their services as a private army. She was also vocally anti-Functionist and the Council definitely had it out for her.

Moonracer had survived several very public “accidents” over the last couple of years. Many had speculated it had been rival mercenaries vying for her seat as guild master but he had always suspected it was the Council.

Megatron copied several articles about her, including her online forum profile where she went as AltMoony, and sent them to Arcee through her com.

She idled her engine noisily as she read through the duplicate articles about her wife. He had never seen anyone cry in their alt-mode before. The oil came running out of her windshield down her hood as she tried not to weep too loudly.

He instinctively reached out for her but she turned away while murmuring. “I...I am just so relieved she is well, that she has survived and thrived. You don’t need to indulge my long overdue relief, thank you for showing her to me though.”

Megatron faltered, he wanted to do more for her. Without thinking too hard about it he opened his arms. “Would you like to, um hug?”

He felt foolish after he said it but to his shock she turned around abruptly and launched herself into the air towards him. He caught her without fumbling and held her close and carefully against his chest plates.

They stayed there like that for a long time.

She was shaking at first but after a bit their sparks started beating in tandem and he offlined his optics.

This was something he could do for her and it felt right.

Eventually she mumbled into his chest “you can put me down now” and he did so gently.

Arcee backed up far enough away from him that she could meet his optics with her headlights. “Thank you. There is no weakness in being vulnerable with your comrades in arms. I just wasn’t sure if I should unburden myself in such a way with you.”

Megatron furrowed his brow. “You are my teacher, my comrade, and my friend. If you ever need anything I will do all I can to help you. You won’t even need to ask.”

She considered her words carefully before speaking. “You are a good friend Young Poet. I extend the same offer to you. If you ever wish to speak, or perhaps to embrace, you know where to find me.”

With that she exited out one of the entrances to the beaten flat dirt floor of the arena.

He was in awe of her for many reasons, especially as a mentor. What they had shared had been intimate. Megatron had offered comfort to someone for the right reasons and suddenly he didn’t feel quite so adrift.

Maybe he had been going about this the wrong way. Trying to forget himself in his many responsibilities. Trying to learn as much as he could about the others here and what they could do once they all re-joined the outside world. Trying to be a good friend to Soundwave without compromising his morals. Trying not to think about how he was hurting and strangely lonely.

He supposed he had been a part of a family once. Terminus, Impactor, all the other miners deep down underground. The only worlds he knew was one without a skye and the faint glowing one he read about in the books Terminus stole for him over the Overseer's cybernet connection.

For most of his life that was what it meant to be alive but as soon as he started writing he had found another universe entirely. The cybernet held friends and foes and millions of years of history and ideas. Everything had changed.

Because of his writings his family had fallen apart and died. The mines of Tarn were closed with Terminus dead, he and Impactor had fled to the surface. Iacon held Impactor prisoner and when he was released he no longer wanted anything to do with him.

He had run.

From the police and also from losing Impactor. Had told himself he had to hide to keep living. And he had ended up here, convinced this was were he was meant to be so he could finally start to change Cybertron for the better.

He was here to help but he was also still running.

Arcee was right. It was never shameful to be vulnerable with your comrades, he would try to open himself up more to the others here. They had started to feel like his family. Everyone here deserved to be free, to find happiness, and he wanted to help them all.

Even _him_.

He had been attempting valiantly not to think of Optimus Prime since their fight several weeks ago but it was impossible. Everyone was always mentioning him. Even Soundwave, who had never met him.

Megatron didn’t _want_ to hate anyone, even though some mechs deserved it. And to be honest he had been sure the Prime was one such bot after their last conversation. But after thinking about it, and talking to Soundwave about him, he was wondering if maybe he had misunderstood Optimus Prime a bit.

It had been cynical and hard to withhold the proof that Sentinel Prime was purposefully starving out his own citizens but he had to admit he had been right about his own response. They weren’t ready to march on the Senate just yet, no matter how much Soundwave wanted to be. He knew for a fact that many would have wanted Sentinel dead, he did. But they had nothing but their words and their firsts against a Golden Age army.

It would have been a massacre.

The problem was the Prime was pragmatic where Megatron was idealistic. We he tried to think like that it had felt like being abraded by the sands of the Sea of Rust. He could see his point, understand his inaction, but it felt wrong and he hated it. Hated the actions but wasn’t yet sure he hated the Prime. He should, simply for what he was, then again that wouldn’t make him any better than the Senate or the Council.

And they had to be, everyone who wanted change had to be open to making it happen.

Megatron shook his head and ex-vented heavily. He could go round and round like this in his own head for weeks. He had, in fact, been doing just that. Had tried to ask for an outside perspective from Soundwave but it had only made him doubt himself more. If anything was going to change he needed to reach out one last time.

When he was back in his habsuite he typed up a com to Optimus Prime three or four times, deleting the message each time as it wasn’t good enough. Megatron slowly realized he was too anxious about this and just hit the send button before chucking his datapad into his subspace and turning off com notifications. If he had left them on he would have stayed up all night waiting for a response. He offlined his optics and manually forced himself to recharge as much as could.

It worked alright and the next morning when the chronometer woke him up he wasn’t exhausted but he was still nervous. He turned on his com notifications and saw that he had one reply.

_Megatron: I wish to speak with you, but not over refuel. Meet me in the training arena today at 1300 hours._

**_Optimus Prime: Very well._ **

His spark dropped into his tanks at his response. Not as bad as what he had been dreading but not particularly encouraging either. Megatron refueled even though his tanks were churning and then headed down to the arena to train with Arcee.

As he was warming up he explained what he had done and asked her politely if she wouldn’t mind leaving them alone to spar.

She had actually laughed at him. “Oh Young Poet I hope you know what you’ve gotten yourself into. A Prime is not an easy opponent. Although if you choose to make a sparring partner of him he would certainly be more to your taste than I am.” She had said the last part coyly and Megatron felt his face heat up from all the energon rushing to it.  

That wasn’t what this was about. Was it?

He looked away from her amused headlights and tried to focus on going through the first five forms he had learned. Arcee had finally let him hold a sharpened blade four days ago, a two handed gleaming crystal sword, and he was practicing with it hard. She summoned a round of level 10 holoforms and he was getting such a  good work out that he didn’t notice her leave. He did however notice when Optimus Prime arrived.

Megatron didn’t stop till he had destroyed the last semi-solid flickering blue holofrom. Once he had, with a confidence he didn’t quite have, he flourished his sword and pointed it up to where the Prime was seated in the shadows of the stadium. “Hey! Come down here and grab a sword. We should spar while we talk.”

Optimus Prime’s blue optics flickered in the darkness as he descended into the arena. It had been several weeks since he had seen him in person. Starscream was constantly reminding him that the Prime was watching him through that mirror of his but now that he was actually watching him in person he spark was guttering. Megatron had forgotten how imposing he was.

The Prime’s optics were hard as they met his gaze.

He stepped heavily onto the smooth dirt of the arena floor and Megatron tried to swallow his spark back down his throat as he gestured at the sword rack with the tip of his blade.  “Choose your weapon. I wouldn’t recommend the stave, they break easily.”

Optimus Prime sized him up, from gold optics to his feet, lingering on his sword before nodding slightly and releasing the plating on his right arm. A long thin blade descended down half his forearm length, out past where his hand was with loud hiss.

Megatron bit his lip. He knew the Prime was augmented with weapons but he hadn’t quite been expecting that. Trying not to show his new nervousness he assumed the first stance and began to circle him.

The Prime followed his lead and raised his sword arm, circling Megatron as well. “Why are we doing this Megatron? I don’t desire to hurt you.”

He scoffed and met his blue optics with defiant yellow ones. “It’s too late for that. I watched many of my brothers die from Sentinel’s fuel shortages. I assumed since the last time we met we fought that I might as well stand on tradition. I am addressing a _Prime_ after all.”

Optimus Prime flinched at his words as if he had struck him, averting his gaze momentarily Megatron took that opening to slash out at him. The Prime struggled to block him but he did and Megatron was surprised at the raw power he used to push back his blow.

His glowing blue optics were shadowed when he responded. “I see. As you wish then. Who am I to deny you your satisfaction?”

With that he brought his arm around in a sweep to try and knock Megatron’s sword from his hands. It didn’t work though as Arcee had taught him well how to parry by now. Even though the force behind the Prime’s blows was much heavier than that of the holoforms Megatron wasn’t a light bot. They met each other blow for blow several times before springing back to circle, swords raised again.

Megatron knew he was poking at his vulnerabilities with his words and his sword but he couldn’t stop. The anger and indignation he had felt before was burning down his lines. He needed to do this. “Tell me Optimus Prime, what would you have done if it had been all these bots in your citadel starving to death to feed Sentinel’s vanity projects and lust for power?”

He came at him hard and Megatron had to shift his stance to back up several steps without falling to his knee. His blade slid past his head and Megatron had to twist to avoid it, the Prime used this opening to hip-check him. He went stumbling away but quickly resumed the second stance as Optimus stalked towards him.

His voice was a deep growl when he answered Megatron. “I would have taken his head clean from his body.”

Optimus Prime raised his sword to strike down hard and he managed to block the crushing blow. Unluckily he had to drop to his knee to hold against the sheer force behind it. His arms were shaking, trying to hold his own sword that was keeping the other blade from slicing him in half.

Megatron snarled up at him. “Oh? So you’re only inclined to do the right thing when it comes to saving your loved ones. How very _divine_ of you.”

Optimus howled as he bore down on Megatron’s sword with his own. He felt his sword hilt guard start to crack. He didn’t have a choice, he grunted as he let his own sword go and fell back towards the ground. The sudden release of tension threw Optimus Prime completely off balance and he fell towards Megatron who hit the ground and brought his knees up quick. He used the bigger bot’s momentum and shoved his knees into his chest hard enough to send him flying over his head. Optimus flipped onto his back hard and Megatron sprang to his feet in a crouch, grabbing his damaged his sword and pointing it at the Prime’s face. He was ex-venting hard as he hissed “yield.”

Megatron wasn’t expecting the Prime to grab his blade with his non-sword had and jerk it from his face towards his spark.

His voice was thick and full of pain when he spoke. “Do it then. If it will give you justice, then do it quickly.”

Megatron stared at him blankly. “What?”

Optimus Prime tried to pull his blade closer to his chest plating but Megatron jerked it back hard, freeing it from his grasp. The Prime ex-vented loudly and rolled to the side before standing in one fluid motion. He retracted his blade back up into his arm as he approached Megatron who was still holding his stance, even with his sword shakily raised.

He stepped up to the tip of the blade till it pointed again at his spark. “I never wanted this, any of it, I’ve done the best I knew how to do but in the end it wasn’t good enough. As you said there are too many Primes, here is your chance to end one.”

Megatron dropped his sword in shock, it hit the ground with a clang that rang through the arena like a massive bell. It was deadly quiet except for the whir of both their fans when he spoke. “No. No that’s not what I want.”

Optimus staggered towards him and Megatron took several steps back.

His optics were a dark navy as he kept following him across the arena. “Then what do you want from me Megatron? I never knew what he wanted from me either. Till it was too late. Senator Shockwave was always full of sweet words and grand praise for me. I thought he loved me as I loved him but he was using me. He wanted a weapon not a conjunx.”

Megatron’s back hit the smooth gray walls of the arena, there was nowhere left for him to run.

Optimus continued to crowd in towards him while pouring his spark out. “And when he couldn’t get what he wanted from me willingly he took it by force. As Onyx Prime, my fallen love, he pried my chest open and shoved this burning coil around my spark. The pain was indescribable, I whited out from agony as every piece of me was turned inside out and remade ion by ion. His betrayal hurt worse than even that.”

“Every moment since he made me join with the Matrix, it constricts tighter and tighter around my spark, it burns. I feel not only my own misery but the suffering of every spark birthed by the Matrix. My actions have hurt them as my inaction does still. Every choice, every decision, I made I have chosen badly. It is too much to ask  of one bot but the Matrix asks it anyway, insistently, angrily, it demands my service. I have tried...I can’t anymore, Megatron I can’t...I, please, please?”

Optimus had offlined his optics as he was clutching frantically at his chest, digging his fingers into it so hard the plating was curling and peeling back, the bright white-blue light of the Matrix was pulsing in between them.

Megatron didn’t think about it, he gasped " _Optimus"_ and held his arms open for him. At the sound of his name he had flicked his optics on to see Megatron waiting to embrace him and practically fell onto him while his vents hitched with a sob.

He was glad that he could support his weight as his arms wouldn’t fit around Optimus’s bulky shoulder pauldrons so he wrapped them around his chest and crushed their bodies together. The bigger mech was rigid at first, eventually he wrapped his large arms around Megatron, pressing them even closer. His hand no longer clawing at his spark casing was instead trapped between them. Optimus was shaking. Megatron tugged lightly on him as he lowered them both to their knees on the ground.

He didn’t let go, both of their plating was burning and they were ex-venting hard. Over the sound of their fans he could feel his spark throbbing dangerously through Optimus’s fingers against his own chest. Megatron tried to calm his own spark down enough to soothe the bigger bot like he had done with Arcee. He wasn’t going to let him go. Not after that.

Megatron murmured into his chest plating. “I'm...that is, what he did was wrong, evil, you didn't deserve that. But you don’t have to make those choices alone anymore. You never should have had to. I don’t want you to die. I don’t want anyone else to die. Is that enough for now?”

Optimus shuddered in his embrace and carefully removed his hand from in between their two frames before cupping Megatron’s cheek with it. “Yes. That is enough, Megatron.”

He snapped his optics up to meet Optimus’s at the way he said his name. He was looking at him so fondly it made his spark hurt, suddenly that big silver hand cupping his face felt molten. He licked his lips and watched as Optimus followed the motion with his optics hungrily. Both their engines revved in unison, the vibrations bouncing through their chests back and forth.

If they stayed like this much longer their embrace would become something even more intimate.

He ex-vented quickly and very slowly disengaged his arms from around Optimus’s back while he leaned away a little. He didn’t want him to feel as if he was abandoning him but he also knew now was not the appropriate time to want to kiss him.

Megatron felt his face go pink from all the energon pooling there and he couldn’t meet Optimus’s optics as he awkwardly scooted back from him and stood. “Well good. That’s good. Um now that that is uh...settled, would you mind if I joined you for a morning refuel tomorrow? We should talk more, if not that then maybe we could spar another time?...Maybe with less swords?”

He looked down at him, as he was still kneeling, and froze. Optimus was looking up at him in awe and he felt that fluttering desire kiss him pierce his spark. He desperately wanted to lean down and,

Now really _really_ wasn’t the time for that.

They both needed time to process what had just happened between them, what the trauma Optimus had confessed to him meant. Now was not time to muddy things with a kiss.

He must have noticed Megatron’s discomfort because he rose again in a rippling motion and beamed down at him, his optics full of affection. “I would like that. Both the meal and the sparring. I shall take my leave then. I’ll see you tomorrow Megatron.”

Optimus’s rumbling voice lingered on his name and he shivered, he hoped dearly that he hadn’t noticed. He still wasn’t really looking at him but he nodded and then started to leave, legs moving stiffly, in the opposite direction out of one of the other entrances.

He needed to think, and to take a cold shower in the wash racks.

The citadel was suspiciously quiet for midday as he plodded back to his room. He didn’t notice the multiple sets of optics watching him from above, he was too deep in his own thoughts.

A dangerous thing as Arcee had warned him.

When he closed the door to his habsuite he rushed immediately into the wash room. The wash rack couldn’t make the solvent cold enough as his plating was still burning up. Even after refusing the infrared dryer and letting the cool air of his darkened room swirl around him. He flopped down heavily on the berth and covered his hot face with his hands.

He had genuinely wanted to work things out between them.

Megatron had been hoping they might come out of it on better terms, maybe even as friends. He had not been expecting that. Or any of things he was now feeling. Distress on his behalf indignant of what had been done to him by Senator Shockwave. Orion had been a victim. Now he wasn't sure what he was as Optimus Prime. Thoughts about Starscream and his murdered conjunx surfaced. He tried to push them away and they were replaced by even worse thoughts. He was now thinking of those massive silver hands cupping his face, running down his throat, his chest, lower. His HUD sent him a ping asking to engage his interface panel and he denied it in a panic.

He was not going to do that. Let alone while thinking of Optimus Prime.

Megatron groaned behind his hands. Why was he thinking like this now? Was it Soundwave’s jealous insinuations? All of the bots in the citadel constantly trying to get him to go on a date with the Prime? His own weeks long bought of lonesome brooding? Had these feelings been there all along? Scrap.

A few days before Arcee was showing him how to kill him if he needed to and now he wanted to what? Frag him?

Just the thought of it sent a thrill through his spark and then down to his array. His HUD pinged him again asking to release his panel and he denied it again this time in frustration.

They had shared an intensely intimate experience, he had never done anything like that before. They would have been merging sparks if his own chest had been open after the damage he had watched Optimus inflict on his spark chamber. It had been completely different from how he had comforted Arcee, maybe that was why he was thinking this way. Optimus was suffering, had been for longer than Megatron had been sentient, and he wanted to help him.

That was a large part of who he was, he had always wanted to help others find their purpose and achieve it. And with the way the world was currently set up it was almost impossible for anyone to achieve their dreams.

Maybe he could have convinced himself that that was all that was between them if not for the way his spark felt when he had looked at him like that. Adoringly. It was now obvious how Optimus felt about him and that in itself was illuminating. Megatron liked that look too much. He squirmed just remembering those fiery blue optics. His hand started to drift down his heated stomach plating, lower, to gently rasp along his interfacing panel.

Primus he needed to stop.

Maybe a manual recharge was in order. He had to get himself under control enough not to do something incredibly ill-advised, and admittedly satisfying to his current flustered state, tomorrow when he met the Prime in the morning. He had a sinking suspicion that Optimus was going to enable him rather than discourage him from being reckless. Which was the last thing he wanted to be after learning of his past abusive relationship with Senator Shockwave. If anything, after what had been done to him, he needed to be very careful. He didn’t want to destroy Optimus's already broken spark. The thought of it made him immediately cool off.

No.

He had to take this slow, be sure of his own intentions first. Whatever it was that was now between them he didn’t want it destroy them both. Going carefully, slowly, was the only answer.

Megatron knew he shouldn’t have but he sent Soundwave a message on their personal chat and he responded almost instantly.  He needed to spill his tanks about Optimus to someone, and it was probably cruel to do it to Soundwave, but his only other choices were bots far too close to the situation to give him good advice. There was a several minute pause after he had explained everything, with as little detail as possible, as Soundwave wrote, deleted, and rewrote his response.

_Soundwave: I am...not experienced in matters of the spark. Shocking I know, for someone with two sparklings but... neither Rumble nor Frenzy were the result of a loving consensual bonding. It is part the reason why I know we need to fight for our freedom. The rich and powerful take without wanting, without needing, their desire is simply to take. I refuse to watch others have everything taken from them, including your “friend.”  I do not wish that on any one._

Megatron hadn’t been expecting that.

He had heard such things happened in places like Dead End. Higher caste mechs “breeding” lower caste ones in exchange for much needed fuel and shelter. The most desperate were so weak from starving on the street they didn’t even survive the carriage. It was no matter for a Senator to find many more who were willing to try though. The very idea of it repulsed him and enraged him. On Sondwave’s behalf.

In all the time they had spoken Soundwave had only referred to the twins with utterly devoted fondness. He loved Rumble and Frenzy. Their outlier powers made them unpredictable and hard to handle, which was probably why they hadn't been taken from Soundwave by the Senator that "comissioned" them. But he loved them unconditionally and with joy. Despite how they had come to be made. Megatron shivered violently. Would he have been able to do what Soundwave must have done? He wasn’t sure and that made him respect the bot even more. Megatron typed and then stared at the message a while before sending it.

_Megatron: I’m so sorry Soundwave. Truly I am, as you say no one should have to go through what you have. I want to build a world where that will never happen again. I am as resolute as you are in my belief such a world is achievable. Through multiple differing methods. Yes, even the ones you favor. I’d like you to present your case at the consortium, I’ll endorse it._

_Soundwave: Are you sure? Part of the reason your rhetoric rings true for so many is that you refuse to immediately resort to violence. My way is one of righteous fury, violent justice to the guilty, and ultimately death for the cause. I have never said it so plainly but you know this is what I preach. Would you lend your favor to such a path, even for me?_

_Megatron: I would one day walk that path with you. Not just for you but alongside you. That day is fast approaching. You are my friend, confidant, and comrade. There is little I wouldn’t do for you. And nothing I wouldn’t do to serve the cause of a better world._

_Soundwave: What if I wished you to leave your self-inflicted exile and to come to me here in Kaon? What if I asked you to leave your “friend” and never look back to him? What if the cause demanded his sacrifice? Would you do it or are you too far gone already?_

Megatron ex-vented raggedly and his hands shook as he typed a response.

_Megatron: The cause has not yet asked such things of me even though you have often. I would gladly give my own spark for freedom but to snuff another’s? That is something I’m not sure I can do. It is not because it is his spark but any spark. You might be right about me, I might fail, but I am willing to try first. And interestingly so is he._

_Regardless, thank you for your counsel tonight Soundwave._

_Soundwave: I see. I give it freely and openly, no matter what you choose to do with it Megatron. If_ you _believe_ you _can make this work with your “friend” then I believe you can. You have already shown yourself capable of many great things._

_Goodnight my comrade._

Megatron had cooled off by now though he was shaking. He might have just lied to Soundwave.

He would have gladly died protecting anyone who needed it but Terminus hadn’t let him. Even when the person he needed to save was Terminus himself. He wasn’t sure he could let anyone else die for him. Not anymore. Not again. No, never again.

Especially not Soundwave even though he seemed determined to do just that...and not Optimus either. Frag.

He was going to try and think his way through this but he now suspected it was too late. Soundwave had realized it before he had but now that he knew he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Megatron was falling for a Prime of all people.

He groaned aloud and threw his whole arm over his face. This was the last thing he needed now that he was officially planning a revolt. The very last thing.

Oh sweet Solus this was going to be a mess.

Luckily for both of them he was pretty good at dealing with disasters. Megaton smirked a little at that, his spark bouncing anxiously as he manually forced himself to recharge. He knew he would get no rest otherwise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okaaaayyyyy so for the TWS: Orion Pax thought he had been going on dates with Senator Shockwave. He thought that this most recent date was gonna be when he proposed, that they would sparkmerge and be bonded as conjunx. Instead Shockwave had him open up and he shoved the Matrix into his chest. Not at all what Optimus had consented to. It destroyed him and the Matrix rebuilt him.
> 
> Optimus tells Megatron about this past sexual assault while tearing at his own chest, starting to expose his spark through the wreckage as he begs Megatron to kill him. 
> 
> Later Soundwave also confesses that Rumble and Frenzy are the result of coerced carriage.
> 
> That's it for the TWs now onto author comments: 
> 
> I'm sorry if this chapter is too long (it should probably be two chapters) and a bit of a downer but it needed to happen for everyone to grow and move on plot and relationship-wise. I love Soundwave so much but yeah he's got it bad for Megatron and it, unfortunately, is just not in their cards. Alas maybe another fic.
> 
> Also if I ever write that Optimus POV companion fic for this you'll get more of what happened to Orion in detail. Wooooo boy is Shockwave a dick. Also it's worth noting Soundwave's outlier ability works over chat so he totally knows Megatron is uh, "interested" in Optimus Prime, even though he hasn't said it even to himself. Which is why he's so jealous before Megatron fights Optimus. And then kind of sadly supportive at the end when Megatron realizes what's going on with his own feelings.
> 
> I promise the next chapter is not only very long but also full of UST with a gooey sexual payoff at the end lol. I have to do the ballroom scene after all this is Beauty and the Beast!!!


	7. Tale As Old As Time

Megatron had expected that the next day refueling with him would be just as awkward as their first dinner, but it hadn’t been.

They had discussed Megatron’s impending digital consortium of minds and how to best support it within the citadel’s closed network. He had asked him for proof of Sentinel’s wrongdoing and Optimus had sent him some encrypted files after making him promise to consult him before releasing them onto the cybernet. Megatron had tried to ask him as tactfully as possible if he was doing alright after yesterday’s confession but Optimus had brushed him off with a smile and comments how he was feeling better than he had in years.

He also noticed that as they spoke the bigger mech was slowly inching his seat closer to his. It was cute, he didn’t dare say anything about it, especially that. Megatron noticed that when their optics met both their expressions were fond.

After their morning refuel he had tried to go find Bee and the others but they were all suspiciously absent from the popular public spaces. In fact he didn’t see anyone until he went down to the lower levels to the training arena. Arcee was there making her obstacle laps as usual.

When he greeted her she zipped over to him. “Should I be proud? It seems to me that you’ve survived your sparring session with the Prime in one piece. How did it go?”

Megatron didn’t want to divulge all of Optimus’s secrets and he wasn’t sure how much Arcee knew, but he also didn’t want to lie to her. “Not at all how I expected. You were right, fighting a real opponent is nothing like training. It turns out there are many other things to consider when facing down a live combatant, such as emotions.”

 Arcee chuckled. “Indeed. Did the Prime surprise you with a sparkfelt confession and then go in for the finishing blow?”

Megatron couldn’t meet her headlights. “Not quite. It wasn’t...he wanted me to... snuff his spark out. I didn’t of course. And now he’s pretending like everything is fine, better than fine. I wanted to talk to Bumblebee or Ratchet about it because I am pretty sure they know why he would ask such a thing of me but I couldn’t find them after taking a refuel with him this morning.”

Her headlights dimmed. “I see. We’ll postpone warm ups for now, come with me.”

She turned and led him back out of the training arena into one of the many side rooms connected to all of its exits. The room had a heavy chainmail curtain that she easily slipped through and as he pulled it back he let out a gasp.

 It was the armory.

Megatron wasn’t sure that the citadel had one until now, as he thought he would have seen it already. Or that perhaps a science outpost like this wouldn’t need one, let alone one this heavily fortified. The icy looking walls were covered in thick metal racks stacked with every type of weapon imaginable and some he had never even thought of before. There were also enough munitions there to take down a whole city if need be.

In the center of the room was a large sparring mat and small recharge slab along with a tiny fuel line running up to the dispenser on the far wall.

 He stared down at her. “You live in the armory? Seriously?”

 Arcee screeched her wheels as she whipped around to face him. “Oh no Young Poet! You are not getting out talking that easily. Yes I live in the armory, it is one of the only places I have ever felt at home when I am not with Moonracer and my sisters. It is no replacement for their arms but there is comfort in being surrounded by blades. Now tell me what happened.”

Megatron squirmed uncomfortably as he recounted pretty much everything Optimus had said and done to him yesterday during their sparring match. He left out the details about Senator Shockwave being Orion Pax’s lover but kept the non-consensual apotheosis.

She listened silently until he was done and then cut straight to the spark of the matter. “He is hurting deeply, more than even we suspected, do you think you can handle that Young Poet? He is no mythical being, nor magical lover, he is a lonely mech with the trauma of a warrior. Is that something you want to help him shoulder?”

There it was.

This wouldn’t be a flirtation. It couldn’t be. If he wanted him he had to commit. To do otherwise would be cruel to both of them. He wasn’t sure Optimus could handle it a second time. He was no sorcerer, no Onyx Prime, but he knew without a shadow of a doubt he could break Optimus’s spark just as easily.

They would need to talk about it again before he was satisfied, maybe many more times, though he wasn’t opposed to those talks. He wanted to have them. Megatron was interested in what he had to say about himself, what his life had been like so far. He wanted his opinions, even if they were wrong. He wanted to spar and share meals with him.

He was embarrassed by it, he even wanted to write poetry for him, to read it to him. Megatron’s throat went dry when he thought of what _else_ he wanted to do to him.

_Primus damnit._

If he was going to do this he was going to need some help. A lot of help.

He sighed so hard the vents in his side whined. “Solus Prime help me but yes. I’ll do what needs to be done to be with him. I want to. I understand what is at stake and I’m committing but I’m going to need some advice, pits of hell, a lot of advice.”

Arcee let out a pleased hum. “You know you remind me of Solus far more than your namesake. She too tried to tame a beast. But unlike you she went about it by herself, cut herself off from her friends and advisers. Wrapped the two of them up alone in a fragile veil of love and comfort. All of history knows how well that turned out for her.”

“I helped slay Megatronus after he crushed her spark in her chest. He was completely gone, there was nothing there except rage and grief. It was a more merciful death than he deserved. A mercy I granted him nonetheless. I’d like not to have to do that again. We’d better call the others, this is going to take a village.”

Megatron wasn’t sure how to react to be compared to Solus Prime by someone who actually knew her. Ecstatic jumping was probably out of the question but his spark swelled with joy anyway.

 Then the rest of her words sunk in and he felt all his energon rushing to head. He was entering into a new training arena. The love of an unbalanced Prime tended to be a dangerous thing, even among equals. Solus had learned that the hard way. Arcee was right, he needed all the allies he could get right now.   

She told him to com Optimus to postpone their sparring for today and then to com everyone else with an emergency meeting message. By the time they made it back upstairs to the usual meeting room everyone was there. Some bots he hadn’t even met yet were there.

He suddenly found himself nervous.

If everyone had been there to discuss organizing a protest or presenting legislation this would have been invigorating. Instead they were there to discuss and strategize his love life. All of a sudden he felt like he was going to purge his tanks. When he walked in with Arcee, Grimlock once again pushing the door open for them, all optics were on him. He sat down carefully in the biggest chair at the table and Arcee, Bumblebee, and Ratchet all rushed to his side. Flanking his feet like a protective barricade.

Of course Starscream was the first to speak. “Well, well, well it looks I was wrong for once. There is indeed someone here more foolish and sentimental than Bumblebee when it comes to Optimus Prime. I just lost several bets, I hope you’re pleased with yourself.”

Ratchet coughed like he was trying to suppress a laugh and cut in. “We’re all rooting for you here kid. All of us have a vested interest in you succeeding, maybe too much of an interest, and the one mech who isn’t here really wants you to be successful too I'd wager. Underneath all the ribbing we do really want to help any way we can. I’ll talk to Optimus before you meet again.”

Bumblebee jumped in. “Look, all of us are a little overeager but we need to do this the right way. Dinner dates, long walks on the veranda, soft lighting, good fuel, an air of romance. The problem is...Optimus is a little, oh ‘desperate’ isn’t quite the right word,”

Starscream interrupted him. “Oh desperate is exactly the right word. I would also use ‘inexperienced’ and ‘terrified.’ A truly volatile combination in a giant war mech. Good luck not getting murdered while interfacing with him Megatron.”

Several dozen mechs groaned in unison including Megatron. This was not the kind of pep talk he had been expecting.

The small blue and white helicopter, Whirl, piped up excitedly. “When are you two gonna frag, cause there’s something I’d really like to have hands for in couple days and it’s making me anxious?”

Even more groans erupted from the gathered bots as Arcee finally spoke up, addressing Megatron directly. “Leave the planning to us, your only job is to focus on your feelings and his. That is what this truly comes down to. Whatever the outcome, know you will always have friends here.”

Many chimed in with well wishes and agreement and several bots came forward out of the gathered crowd.

Swerve, the small blocky red truck spoke to him first. “I know how much you love my energon goodies, you can count on a stack of them for every dinner date, guaranteed. You got this!”

Perceptor, who was sitting on top of Brainstorm’s cockpit spoke next. “Despite evidence to the contrary, we scientists might be able to offer assistance should you require some...appropriate ambiance and music.”

Brainstorm chirped enthusiastically from underneath Perceptor’s microscope stand. “Or alternatively, if you want to go the easy route, I can rig up a quantum generator and twist reality a little into a separate parallel dimension where both of you are already madly in love and junxies. It worked for me!”

Several mechs yelled “Brainstorm!” all once, including Perceptor.

Bumblebee raised his voice. “Look! We all want to help, it’ll take us a couple days to get everything ready so you two should plan another dinner date this week. Until then refuel with him in the mornings, spar in the afternoons, and maybe ask him to take a walk with you in the evenings. Just take it slow. Don’t worry I’ll talk to him too.”

Megatron ex-vented heavily and then decided to address the gathered bots. “This isn’t what I came here to do. As most of you know I was running from political persecution trying to start a movement, but this is important too. I want to free you from the citadel and from the chains the outside world would cast you into. I am still holding the consortium here in a shared digital space and I want you all to come and voice your opinions and concerns. But I’m also going to try and help Optimus. I am committed to both courses of action as I ask for your aid.”

 

Ratchet mumbled “nice speech there kid” so only those closest to him could hear and Megatron murmured a quiet “thanks” back.

 

Starscream of course had the last word. “As _sickeningly sweet_ as this little meeting has been I can feel my brain module rusting. I’d very much like to stop thinking about Optimus Prime at all, let alone him fragging the new bot, are we done here?”

Several more groans, the loudest from Megatron, as Bumblebee dismissed everyone. All the other bots left so that it was just Bumblebee, Arcee, and Ratchet.

Bee was excitedly doing donuts around and around in front of his feet. “This is great! You know I talked to him after you two refueled this morning and he was so smitten. I haven’t seen him this happy in hundreds of years. Even before the Matrix Optimus was always a little...serious. I feel like with you he can finally relax a little.”

Megatron didn’t feel particularly relaxed right now. He pinched the space in between his brow ridges and sighed.

Arcee was a voice of reason at least. “If you follow your spark Young Poet I know you will succeed. You two are compliments; strong where he is weak, flexible where he is rigid, creative where he stunted, and vice versa. He has seen and experienced things you can only imagine. Get to know him and both your sparks shall grow together as one.”

Ratchet’s voice was smug when he responded. “Listen to her kid, she has been married for 3 million years for a reason.”

Arcee scoffed but it was fond.

Megatron was glad he had them here to help him. “I appreciate the assistance, though Arcee is right. This is something that needs to be felt and experienced, no amount of planning is going to make this go well if we’re not both interested in the same things. I’ll do my best but I can’t guarantee anything.”

Ratchet bumped his side door affectionately into Megatron’s ankle. “We know. However this shakes out nobody will blame you if the curse doesn’t break. I’ll make sure they don’t. Just be yourself, that’s more than appealing enough for Optimus it seems.”

With a wink of his headlights he took off. Grimlock barely had time to open the door for him as he zoomed away. Bumblebee was the next to leave, sending him a quick com of affirmative pings and a bunch of thumbs up images so that it was only him and Arcee.

He could feel his spark in throat when he spoke. “I know I’m good with words, my ability has saved me from many disasters and led to many more, but I’m nervous I’ll say something wrong. I’ve never courted anyone before. It wasn’t something that was done in the mines, we didn’t have time. What if I,”

She interrupted him with fondness. “You always remind me of what it’s like to be so new to world. When you do it’s more endearing than annoying. You’ll do well or your won’t, the important thing is to be adaptable. Which you have proven you are more than capable of in many areas. Don’t worry Young Poet, this is like sparring, it’s best done with two interested bots. He will be trying to woo you as well. Parry and thrust, volley and return, it’s a dance that will always keep you on your toes. Yes, even 3 million years later.” She chuckled at his scandalized expression and then bid him farewell.

He needed to be alone with his thoughts for a bit so headed back to his habsuite to write. The words came in a flurry, much faster than usual, as all his anxieties flowed out onto the screen.

  _There's an old love wronged were the new was won, there's the light of long ago;_

_There's the cruel lie that we suffer for, and the public must not know._

_So we go through life with a ghastly mask, lies we're doing fairly well,_

_While they break our sparks, oh, how they kill our sparks! do the things we dare not tell._

That was enough for him as he flung his datapad into his subspace as he bit his lip. Maybe it would be better if they spoke through text over com. Megatron kept worrying his lip as he tried to compose several different messages.

He was overthinking all of this, he knew he was, but couldn’t help it. His spark was fluttering nervously in his chest, he’d never allowed himself to feel like this before. It was exciting and terrible. He hated feeling unprepared, out of his depth, and awkward. The only comfort he had was that he wasn’t the only one feeling this way. That made his spark jump. He sent the com.

_Megatron: Sorry I cancelled our sparring session earlier. Arcee wanted to introduce me to a new weapon or two and we got distracted. Did you have a good afternoon anyway? We’re still on for refueling together tomorrow morning and then we can spar, so don’t worry._

He banged his head back against his recharge slab and groaned. He sounded ridiculous. Optimus responded almost immediately.

**Optimus Prime: I’m glad to hear you are learning new weapons techniques. I had an uneventful afternoon. And it is fine, you may reschedule our time together however you wish. I simply enjoy the presence of your company.**

Megatron squinted at the com message. That was surprisingly smooth and now his face was burning even more. He has to respond though.

_Megatron: I enjoy your company as well, despite all the evidence to the contrary. See you tomorrow! Goodnight._

 His response wasn’t as fast this time but he did respond to him before he fell into recharge.

  **Optimus Prime: Goodnight Megatron.**  

 He had a silly smile on his face when he finally offlined his optics and fell into recharge.

 

The next morning they met up to share some cubes of energon and Optimus asked him about literature, in general but also his own. Megatron smiled ruefully at that as he knew this was a subject given to him by Bumblebee as a “safe topic.” Their meal passed jovially without incident.

He went to see Arcee and told her about wanting to master as many weapons in the armory as possible. Which she scoffed at, then let him work with a two handed axe as she said it was more ‘his speed.’ Optimus came by at exactly 1600 hours to spar and Arcee remained to offer pointers on form to _both_ of them.

Things went on like this for several days. Slowly their seats moved closer and closer together while they refueled in the mornings. Their optics watched each other’s lips as they drank and spoke. They both did far more touching than was strictly needed during sparring sessions. Little grips and holds, trailing fingers, heated glances. They were still fighting but it wasn’t about training or technique so much anymore.

And then Megatron woke up one morning to a com message from Bee.

_Bumblebee: Okay, so we’re all ready to go for tonight if you want to invite him to the grand dining hall. Arcee is gonna cut out of your sparring session early to help so just keep him busy until we summon both of you later. Good luck ;)_

Megatron raised a brow ridge at that but sent an affirmative ping to Bee anyway. He wondered if Optimus had been sent a similar com because when he went to meet him for morning refuel he was pacing nervously back and forth.

Megatron tried not to grin as he addressed him. He failed. “Good morning Optimus! Is there something on your mind? I haven’t seen you pacing like that before.”

The larger bot stopped pacing immediately and looked away guiltily. When he spoke he was rubbing the back of his head and Megatron couldn’t stop smiling at him. “Ah yes...uh...I know it was not part of today’s original plans but would you like to have dinner with me in the grand dining hall tonight? I will try and make it more enjoyable than our first meal there.”

Megatron laughed but smothered it quickly with his hand as he watched Optimus flinch at the sound. He sat down carefully at the mirror glass table and motioned for Optimus to do the same. “Oh relax I got the exact same com from Bumblebee you did you just beat me to asking you. It would be my pleasure to join you for dinner tonight.”

Optimus’s glowing blue optics were wide as he sat down and muttered “oh.”

He was now fidgeting with his empty energon cube and Megatron decided to take mercy on him, a bit. He reached out his hand and brushed those nervous twitching fingers. He heard Optimus’s vents hitch as he did, his whole body rigid in shock. Megatron took the bigger silver hand in his slightly smaller black one and squeezed lightly. He looked up and it was his turn to gasp a little. Optimus’s optics were full of wonder and something else, darker, needful.

Megatron had to look away and murmur. “Is this alright? This isn’t too much is it?”

Optimus practically jerked him forward by yanking his hand closer to his chest and sputtering quickly. “No! Please don’t stop!”

Megatron laughed softly and squeezed his hand, he was pleased when he felt him squeeze his in return.

When Optimus spoke it was a deep rumble. “When we spar I’m always surprised by how delicate your hands are.”

Megatron hummed absently as he rubbed his thumb down the side of Optimus’s hand and watched him shiver a little. “Unlike the rest of me? You should know by now my hands are good for many more subtle pursuits than sparring...like writing. Unless of course you haven’t been watching me through that magic mirror of yours like Starscream is always saying.”

Optimus’s cooling fans spun up loudly and they both jumped at the sound. When he spoke it was slightly strangled. “He’s partly right, I have been watching you, just not with the mirror. Come here.”

With that he abruptly stood and tugged on his hand gently for him to follow him towards the floor to ceiling windows. He placed the hand not holding his against the glass and pointed down. Megatron followed his gesture and saw a perfect view of the outside balcony veranda he liked to sit and write on.

He smiled coyly at Optimus who was still looking at their joined hands in awe. “I take it every time I’ve been sitting out there writing you’ve been watching then?”

Optimus had the decency to look guilty. “Not every time but often. You...when you write you look like a statue except for your hands, they flit over the datapad like dappled light on a mirror. It brings me peace to watch you, while you write that is.”

 

Megatron hummed and leaned in so that his head was resting against the massive red pauldrons of his shoulder. He felt Optimus go rigid under him. His arm was so warm under his head his vents were hissing. “And they call me a poet. If that’s the case then you could have asked me. I can write pretty much anywhere and I don’t much mind an audience. Although, now that I know I have one I might be more inclined to put on a bit of a show.”

 

Optimus ex-vented raggedly and took their joined hands and pressed them to his burning faceplate. His optics met Megatron’s wide yellow ones and there was nothing there but raw want. Optimus whispered Megatron’s name and he had to hurriedly shut down the HUD request to open his interfacing panel. He was trying to go slowly. But those optics promised something immensely pleasurable if he’d only let himself go.

It was Megatron’s turn to ex-vent heavily and avert his optics. He had trouble speaking with his spark practically in his throat. “I should probably go meet Arcee, she has something to do later so she’s leaving training early. It... it seems it will just be the two of us in the training arena later.”

He carefully disentangled his hand and took a step back.

Optimus straightened fluidly where he had been bent over their joined hands and fixed him with another hungry stare. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Megatron could only nod vaguely as he was suddenly at a loss for words. He practically fled the room, taking the stairs two at a time on the way down to the lower levels.

Optimus Prime wanted to court him and he was doing a pretty good job at it.

Which was flattering and sweet but it didn’t make Megatron’s spark throb like those looks he was giving him did. If they had been in Tarn he would have let him frag him against those windows for everyone to see. They weren’t though. He had to be careful with the Prime.

As much as he wanted to face’ him into the flat packed dirt of the training arena it meant something more to Optimus than a way have fun and feel pleasure. This wasn’t a quick frag behind the miner’s mess hall.

Megatron wanted more as well. He wanted the touches and the glances. He wanted to kiss him and hold him. All the tenderness that he had never been allowed to have hauling energon in nearly endless cycles underground. There were no suns, no night and day, only the grind of metal on rock and the smell of fuel and toil. He had been suspended in the dark gray rock for most of his life, just emerging in the last couple years to find the sky wasn’t as limitless as he had hoped.

No, this was different.

Even though he desperately wanted to bury his face between those gorgeous silver and red thighs he shouldn’t...not yet.

Megatron tried to calm his cooling fans before he made it to the training arena but failed because Arcee simply laughed at him and pointed her hood to the rack with the battle axe. “Have an exciting morning Young Poet? I hope you’re still fit to work as I’m not going to take it easy on you today.”

And she didn’t. Arcee put him through his paces so that the only thing on his mind was dodging, blocking, and slashing.

He didn’t notice Optimus come in, which she would have admonished him for if she hadn’t already left.

Megatron almost dropped his axe when he felt a big hand brush across his heated back plating. He somehow managed to hold onto it as he whipped his head around to see Optimus staring at him, openly admiring his aft.

His voice was low when he spoke. “Arcee has trained you well with a blade but I was hoping, since she isn’t here at the moment, that we might try something different. It’s been a long time since I’ve practiced hand to hand combat. Would you be interested?”

When they had sparred these last few days he had noticed Optimus wasn’t shy about throwing an elbow or a knee, his combat style was a mixture of sword and fist. Which he respected, though it made Megatron suspect he would be a brutal hand to hand opponent. Not that he was terribly afraid of him hurting him now.

There might have been some strained joints and dents here and there but Megatron wasn’t fragile and could take a blow from the Prime. He also knew how to use his body to greater benefit now. Optimus was top heavy, his center of gravity level with the Matrix in his chest. Megatron’s weight was lower, braced in his hips and thighs, it was much harder for Optimus to knock him down or throw him around, he had to catch Megatron off balance to do it. He suspected that this particular sparring match wouldn’t last very long.

He sighed through his vents and laughed lightly as he hung the axe back up on the racks. “Very well you’ve piqued my interest. What are the rules?”

Optimus raised a brow ridge at him and took a wide stance, one fist raised towards his face, the other open at his waist. “No rules. The first to pin the other to the count of ten wins.”

Megatron shrugged in a singular motion and took a wider stance, fists raised to block. “Oh? And what does the winner get?”

Optimus’s optics darkened to a smoldering navy. “Whatever he desires.”

Megatron swallowed hard.

_Okay._

Well if it was going to be like that then he had better win because if Optimus won they definitely wouldn’t be going to dinner tonight. Slagging hell, the whole castle probably wouldn’t see either of them for several days.

He licked his lips and nodded while starting to circle around him.

Optimus made the first move, striking out to grab his chest and pull him towards him. Megatron felt his arms come up around his head to hold him in a headlock. He rocked into Optimus’s hips with his own, throwing the other off balance so he could spin out of the hold. The other bot grunted in shock then frustration. Megatron tried not to smirk and failed.

Optimus wasn’t going to be stopped that easily though, he charged at Megatron and when he dodged the charge he flung his arm out haphazardly and knocked Megatron’s left knee out from under him. He went down on it with a yelp as he felt large arms grab him from behind and pull him back.

Megatron wasn’t going down without a little more of a fight. He slammed his head back and there was a loud satisfying crunch and a groan when it connected with Optimus’s faceplate. He threw his elbows back hard and felt Optimus’s grip loosen enough for him to flip around and use his full weight to push them both all the way to the ground. Unfortunately he wasn’t on top for long as Optimus rolled them both, Megatron suddenly pinned underneath him, back plating digging into the dirt.

Optimus’s optics were triumphant, above his now dented battlemask, as he started to count to ten. Megatron’s arms and legs were pinned beneath his massive weight and although he was enjoying the feeling of being covered, that heavy body pushing him into the dirt, he wasn’t done yet.

His face darted up and he kissed the Prime’s battlemask.

Optimus’s fans whined loudly and his grip slackened. It gave Megatron enough space to wedge his elbows underneath him and use them and his hips to flip them over.  He quickly pinned Optimus’s arms to his sides with his thighs while he straddled his chest, hips straining to wrap around the widest part of the Prime.

He leaned down to tap at the shocked Optimus’s battlemask playfully. “Eight, nine, ten. Do you ever take this thing off when you’re not eating or?”

 

It slid away under his touch with a loud snick and suddenly his finger was on his lips. Slightly mesmerized, he traced them lightly and when Optimus moaned he felt his own cooling fans whine to life loudly. Megatron removed his finger and leaned down, sliding his body further down Optimus’s, boxing his arms on either side of his head.

 

The heat spinning off their frames was making him a little dizzy as he stopped his mouth, just above the Prime’s. “Do you know what I want to do to you?”

 

Optimus’s blue optics were blown wide and Megatron wasn’t sure he’d be able to speak until he murmured. “I don’t..but you can do anything. Please.”

 

That made his engine roar and it reverberated through both their chests as he closed the space between them, pressing their mouths together hotly. He teased at those full lips and when Optimus gasped he deepened the kiss and licked into his mouth. That got him a moan and he felt those big hands come up and lightly cup his aft. He laughed into his mouth and playfully pushed back against his hands so he would have to hold on tighter. Optimus obliged and and started to work his hands in the transformation seems up the sides of his hips. Megatron gasped and ground back against those roaming hands as he continued to kiss him passionately.

He shuddered when those thick fingers brushed against the seams of his interface panel.

Optimus was warm, wet, and willing underneath him. He wanted to spike him badly. But instead he pulled off with a gasp and sat up, gently pushing his hands away from his hips.

Optimus was looking up at him in panic before Megatron smiled down at him. “I want to, believe me I do, but not here, not like this this just yet. I want to take my time with you, find all the sensitive spots in your transformation plating and touch and lick them until you’re buzzing with charge. Kiss you lazily, my fingers in your valve until you can’t stand it anymore and beg me to spike you. But instead I use my mouth, my glossa, and you overload into it. Trasnfluid running down my chin while I lick you clean before I finally sink my spike into you, calipers clenching tight around me as I frag you to overload again. That’s what I want to do. But not now, not here.”

 

Optimus’s optics audibly clicked offline at his words, his whole frame shuddering under him as he moaned. Megatron didn’t need to look between them to know what had just happened.

His voice was barely an awed whisper. “Did you overload? Just from that?”

Without his battlemask Optimus’s face was surprisingly vulnerable as he bit his lip and looked away, his face coloring pink with an energon blush. “Yes. I am sorry...it’s just hearing you wanting me, wanting to do those things to me, it feels...incredible and too much. But also not nearly enough. You, I, just, please forgive,”

Megatron cut him off by leaning down to kiss him, he felt his engine strain under him and he desperately wanted to grind down against him but refrained. Optimus was wound up so tightly he wouldn’t be surprised if anything they did brought him to the edge of overload again.

He huffed against his mouth while grinning. “No need to apologize for pleasure Optimus. I found it surprising, but not in a bad way. I look forward to seeing if I can do that to you again when we have more time. Though right now we should probably, ahem, get cleaned up before Bumblebee summons us for dinner.”

With that he carefully rolled off of him and stood up with only a little difficulty. He leaned down to offer Optimus a hand up and he took it while looking away, still embarrassed, before snapping his dented battlemask back in place.

As if right on cue Bumblebee sent them both a com telling them to come up to the grand dining hall for dinner in an hour. Megatron was tempted to ask Optimus to join him in the wash racks but he didn’t want to ruin all of the other bot’s carefully laid dinner plans.

So instead he smiled at him ruefully, disengaging their hands. “While I wouldn’t mind helping you wash all that dirt off your frame, and helping you with that...mess behind your interfacing panel, we only have an hour before dinner. I guess this is where I tell you I’m going back to my habsuite to clean up. I’ll see you soon.”

Optimus’s optics were so full of longing, though he responded tactfully. “Of course, while I’m sure I would enjoy that as well, we have prior plans. I look forward to dining with you soon. Until then.”

And with that he took Megatron’s hand and brought it to his faceplate. A chaste kiss without lips. He looked appreciatively at the Optimus, all gallant charm like he hadn’t just overloaded under him with only his voice to motivate him. Oh yes, he liked this side of Optimus Prime.

He looked away his own cheeks flushing a little. “Until then.”

Megatron took a different exit out of the arena so he wouldn’t be tempted to follow Optimus back to his room. As he knew he would have been sorely tempted.

There wasn’t a setting in the wash racks cold enough to settle his circuts so he didn’t bother. He focused instead on getting all the dirt out of his back struts and giving his plating a nice polish afterwards with some wax. He found it surprisingly difficult not to imagine bigger hands rubbing the smooth paste into all his joints. Megaton really didn’t want to go to dinner as flustered as he was now but he knew if he self-serviced it wouldn’t help much. His body and mind knew exactly who he wanted, he just had to be patient.

Shaking himself mentally he made his way down the sixteen flights of winding stairs to the ground level where the grand dining hall was located. He didn’t have the luxury of hesitating before opening the the tall blue doors as they were already propped wide open.

Inside the grand dining hall was glowing brightly with floating blue lights. A giant cluster of them hovered, suspended over a dance floor and a much shorter dining table. Megatron wondered briefly how everyone had removed the old table. The new one was a pearlescent white, stacked with trays of Swerve’s delicate energon confections, as well as some bright glowing pitchers of high grade.

As he entered he noticed that the floor was covered in a light misty cloud, roiling and billowing out around his ankles as he walked toward the table. He scanned the perimeter and saw several machines that appeared to be making the mist, as well as some bots who seemed to be managing the lights. When he got to the table some soft lilting music started to play from all around the room. He raised his brow at that.

Everyone had gone to a lot of trouble to make this night special. His spark was burning in his chest as he sat down and waited. Luckily he didn’t have to wait long as the door behind the head of the table opened and Optimus entered. He noticed both Bee and Ratchet nudging his heels into the room and tried not to laugh at them. That was probably the last thing Optimus wanted, his optics were slightly panicked.

Instead Megatron let his gaze wander over his shimmering shoulders and glittering bright red chest. It looked like the Prime had decided to polish himself up as well. He watched as the large mech awkwardly shuffled over to the table and sat down.

He couldn’t meet Megatron’s optics as he muttered. “I told them the formica finish was too flashy, I look ridiculous.”

Megatron huffed a quiet laugh. “Nonsense. I think you look radiant.” He was going enjoy wrecking that paint job later though.

Optimus's Matrix blue optics did flick up to meet his then and they were once again wide and awed. He kept giving him that look, like he was the most incredible thing he had ever seen, and it was making his spark flutter.

Megatron glanced away, down at his own polished black hands and smiled. “This is the part where you’re supposed to tell me I look nice as well.”

Optimus sputtered and leaned towards him earnestly. “You do! Of course you look wonderful with a new coat of polish! You’re always beautiful but especially right now. I should have said so immediately, my apologies.”

Megatron laughed again and looked at him out of the corner of his optics. “I was just teasing you Optimus. I'm mining drill and rubble hauler. I know I am not a great beauty, there's no need to flatter me.”

Optimus looked taken aback before he reached out for Megatron’s hand hesitantly. He let him take it and their optics met as he spoke reverently. “It’s not flattery. I find you: your frame, your mind, your spark, utterly captivating. You are beautiful Megatron.”

He felt his face heat up pink with energon. His spark burned at those words. He hadn’t been expecting that. He knew the other mech found him attractive, their sparring sessions were full of plenty of evidence of that, but not quite so much for the rest of his life. Megatron had never been called beautiful.

He had seen mechs that were, beautiful. Blue, red, and yellow speedsters in Iacon with their curvy lithe frames and sparkling optics. He was not that.

He had found the dark beauty of battle in Optimus’s broad shoulders and thin waist. His paint flowing and blurring with red and silver streaks like the sunsets over the Sea of Rust. He had a fluidity and grace of movement when he wasn’t self conscious about it that was sensual and made Megatron’s interfacing array ache to watch.

He was the exact opposite though.

Built more like a mountain of gray stone than a flowing ripple of hard red sunlight. His frame was several dull, square, boulders stacked on top of each other, the widest at his thighs and shoulders. He’d been a little embarrassed about it in Iacon among all the other gorgeous frames. Frame types he had never seen in person before down in the mines. But like always he had pushed aside those thoughts of self-deprecation in favor of using his brain module to get what he wanted. It did him no good to fret about how attractive his frame was to others when what was most interesting about him was his mind.

Optimus had said he found all parts of him attractive though, not just his brain module nor spark. He was having trouble forming a response so he sighed a quiet “thank you” and then carefully disentangled their hands.

Which was a mistake because he suddenly couldn’t think of what to do with them so he reached out and grabbed up several of Swerve’s energon goodies and started to eat. He heard Optimus release his faceplate and turned to watch him reach out a try one of the confections. His face lit up with surprise and then pleasure as he realized how good they were.

Megatron smiled around his own mouthful of delicate fuel and quickly swallowed it to speak. “They’re delicious aren’t they? I went to Swerve’s workshop to see how he makes them, he’s very skilled. We should go together and watch sometime.”

Optimus startled at the sound of his voice and then nodded. “I wasn’t expecting them to taste like this. I was perfectly content to watch and listen to you enjoy them but now I must admit I’d like to try another.”

Megatron arched a brow playfully at him. “Liked the sounds I was making while eating them did you?”

Optimus didn’t look away as his optics darkened. “Yes. Very much so. But then you well know how the sound of your voice affects me by now.”

Megatron had to clear his vocalizer so he didn’t choke on the energon in his intake. He had been trying not to think of what had happened earlier while at dinner but Optimus wasn’t keen on letting him brush it off that easily. His optics darted around for a distraction.

Fortunately Brainstorm and Perceptor chose that moment to start arguing over what music they should be playing. Megatron turned and stared at them both where they were perched atop a black panel in the wall that seemed to contain multiple speakers. He turned up his audials so he could hear better and tried not to snicker at them.

Perceptor wanted to play a waltz, something old fashioned, whereas Brainstorm was favoring the more upbeat electronic music. So far it seemed they had been alternating between the two but were finally stuck on some sort of important song. He turned back and noticed Optimus was watching them as well.

Megatron grinned at him as he gestured towards them. “They’re cute aren’t they? I must admit I do take comfort in watching other couples struggle to compromise as well. It helps me put us in perspective somewhat.”

Optimus was still watching them absently when he murmured. “Yes. I hadn’t noticed what was between them until just now and it is...wait us?”

He looked at him with a completely poleaxed expression and Megatron bit his lip as he responded. “Are we not a couple? I was under the impression we were courting, that is what we’ve been doing the last week right? If not I’d appreciate it if you told me now before I get any more ideas about what I’d like to do to you after dinner.”

Optimus’s engine roared so loud it shook all the dishes on the table. It was Megatron’s turn to look shocked as his optics jerked up to meet blue optics so hot they were almost white.

He spoke in a hoarse rumble. “Of course I wish to court you Megatron. I was trying not to rush you into something you did not truly want. However now that I know you do want to court me as well, I fully expect you to make good on everything you said you wished to do to me earlier..and more.”

Megatron’s mouth went dry.

His hand shot out for a glass of high grade and he threw it back in one quick gulp before slamming it back down on the table and reaching out for Optimus’s hand. He grabbed it and tugged him to his feet. Optimus followed him willingly as he walked them towards the center of the grand dining hall’s floor, underneath that floating ball of dancing blue lights. He called out to Perceptor. “Hey Percy put on that waltz.”

He heard Brainstorm make a frustrated noise before a slow thrumming and swelling of the string instruments in the song surrounded them both.

Megatron looked up at Optimus with a crooked smile. “I know I pulled us out here but you’re going to have to lead as I have no idea how to dance.”

Optimus laughed as he swept his other hand not holding Megatron’s down his shoulder to rest tentatively as his waist. Megatron mirrored the action and set his own free hand on his waist.

Optimus pulled their two frames closer together and leaned down to speak directly into his audial. “You’re in luck, as I at least know how to waltz. Although I’d like to see if you can follow as well as you’ve been leading me on up until now.”

It was Megatron’s turn to laugh as Optimus started to move them across the floor. He followed his footsteps round and round, it was almost like circling each other during sparring. Except for they were holding each other chest to chest and Optimus’s heavy, hot hand was rubbing his hip slowly. Megatron clutched his hip harder and felt him shudder in his arms. He wanted this to continue but there was something he had to ask first.

Megatron leaned in closer as rested his head on Optimus’s shoulder pauldron as he spoke. “I want this. I want you. But there can’t be any more harmful secrets between us Optimus. You can ask me anything and I will tell you the truth as best I understand it, all I want is for you to do the same. Even if it’s about how well you’re feeling, or how you feel about what happened in the past with Senator Shockwave. I know it is a lot to ask, though it is what I need from you to make this work.”

Optimus ex-vented against him, his frame was stiff under Megatron’s hand and chest. “I...I’ll try as hard as I can. In case you haven’t realized by my blundering thus far I’m not very good at forming relationships with others. I want to get better, for you specifically, but also for everyone here in the citadel I have been failing as a friend for over 500 years.”

“As for _him_ , I promise we can speak more about what happened at a later time. I would rather think of your earlier words right now than anything that slagger ever said to me.”

Megatron was surprised to hear him swear for the first time. He eventually nodded and then took his hand from his waist to place it behind his head, tugging him down to kiss him. Optimus came willingly and gasped against his mouth in between kisses. They had stopped dancing and were exploring each other’s mouths, Megatron removed his free hand from his hip and dragged it hotly down his chest. The hand he was still holding squeezed his hard and he felt his frame shiver as he ran his hand lower towards his waist, fingers just barely ghosting he edges of his interfacing panel. It was then he heard the whistling and cheering of the other bots in the room.

He broke the kiss and Optimus groaned as he pulled away from him smirking. “Come on, let’s go back to your room so we don’t end up giving the bots here even more of a show.”

Optimus apparently didn’t need to be told twice as he started to drag Megatron back towards the door he had entered in. He had to jog to keep up with him as he pulled open the door and tried to take the steps two at time. Megatron was tempted to follow him in that, instead he pulled back on his hand stopping him.

He huffed out. “If you want me to have any energy left to frag you senseless we need to stop running up all these stairs.”

Optimus slowed down, his cooling fans were still hissing as he fixed Megatron with a darkened optic. “I thought you had been building up your stamina while training. Twenty flights of stairs shouldn’t be a problem for a warrior such as yourself.”

Megatron rolled his optics and then stuck his glossa out at him. The very dignified Optimus Prime snorted a laugh as he turned around and ascended the steps at a slower pace.

They made it back to his room as the stairs ended inside his quarters behind the room with the wash racks. As soon as they were inside he was kissing him. Megatron let him slide his hands down to his aft and grunted in surprise as he picked him up effortlessly. He wrapped his legs around his hips as didn’t stop kissing him as he carried him back to his berth.

Optimus set him down, pushing Megatron to lean back against the slab and then he was on top of him, pressing against him from chest to hip. Which wasn’t what they had spoken of earlier, though it was still good. He ground up against his hot interfacing panel and Optimus groaned into his mouth. He bit his lip and felt him shake above him. Megatron slid his hand in between them and ran his fingers along the seam of his interfacing panel but stopped when Optimus went still above him.

He looked up in to his wild blue optics and murmured. “Too much? We can slow down if you want. I know you were expecting me to take my time after all.”

Optimus ex-vented hard and was shaking when he spoke. “I meant what I said before in the training arena Megatron. I want anything and everything you’re willing to give me I’m just not...I haven’t done...frag it, this is my first time interfacing.”

Oh.

_Oh._

Megatron pressed up on his chest gingerly until Optimus got up and then he guided them both to lay facing each other on their sides.

He reached out and stroked his cheek gently. “Let’s go a little bit slower then. If you need to stop just say so and I will. Now, would you like me to get my fingers and glossa in between your plating?”

Optimus licked his lips and nodded vigorously. Megatron scooted in closer and started to run his fingers over his shoulders, into the softer protoform below his plating. His mouth working the cables of his neck just below his audials. He used his teeth there and Optimus bucked against him. He smoothed a hand over his hip trying to steady him a little and moved his mouth down to his shoulder to where his fingers had been questing. His free hand found a new hold in the transformation seams below his spark chamber, his mouth kissed and sucked on the sensitive metal in between his shoulder and neck plating. Optimus keened loudly, the sound of his engine practically purring under Megatron’s hands made his cooling fans whirr angrily. He could feel his charge building as the metal under his tongue shot off sparks onto his tongue.

Megatron pulled back and moved his legs before meeting Optimus’s blown wide glowing optics. He held his gaze as he started to kiss down his chest, rolling them over together slowly so Optimus was underneath him. He kept going lower, kissing and licking into his hip seems. Never breaking his optic contact. He ran his tongue over the top of his interfacing array panel, Optimus whimpered and he felt the whine of it through his teeth.

He mouthed against the panel “may I?” and Optimus nodded enthusiastically yes as he released the lock on his panel, it slid back with a click. Megatron’s vents hissed loudly at the sight of Optimus’s dripping valve and fully pressurized spike.

His spike was larger at the base with a tapered tip, silver along the top and bottom and red along the sides, blue biolights running up the base to the head which was beading with transfluid. But what he was really enamored with was his valve, the silver protomass folds of it were leaking blue tinged transfluid and a ring of flickering blue biolights were visible just inside it. The drip of transfluid was starting to form a puddle on the berth below his aft.

He yellow optics darted back up to watch Optimus as he leaned in and whispered “you’re gorgeous,” lips hovering over his valve, venting hot air over his sensitive protoform.

Optimus was shaking and his thighs clenched around Megatron’s head as he leaned in and licked along the entire length of his valve to the glowing blue biolight of his anterior node. Optimus’s engine growled as he slowly ran his tongue around it. Megatron was still watching his face as it was thrown back in pleasure. He placed his hands under his thick silver thighs and lifted his aft so his valve was closer to his face. Then he buried his mouth and nose in it.

Optimus cried out as Megatron licked into his opening, nose grinding up against his anterior node. He tasted like ozone and he was enjoying licking up his transfluid as each clench of his valve caused more to run out. He felt the charge building against his tongue and decided to send him over the edge for the first time by sucking on his node, hard. Optimus howled, his heels digging into the berth as he pushed his panel into Megatron’s face. His engine roared as he continued to suck him through his first overload, transfluid running down his chin as he tried to lap it all up.

Optimus came down hard on the slab and Megatron took his time licking him clean, little aftershocks were making him shake beneath his tongue. He finally looked up to see Optimus staring at him with that awestruck expression again. He smiled and moved from between his legs, up his chest to kiss him gently. Optimus hummed and deepened the kiss, fisting his hands behind his head, pulling him closer on top of him.

His voice was raspy when he spoke. “I can taste myself in your mouth...it’s incredible, you’re incredible. Thank you.”

Megatron laughed against his cheek and smiled. “No need for thanks, it was my pleasure, truly.”

He felt Optimus’s hand brush his own interfacing panel which he had been fighting hard to keep closed the whole time.

His vents hitched as Optimus leaned up and whispered in his audial. “Don’t you want to spike me? I want you to. This time I want you to overload inside me.”

Megatron’s engine roared at the suggestion and that was all the encouragement his spike needed as he slid back his panel cover. Optimus gasped as his hand ran along the length of Megatron’s rather large gray and black spike.

He knew it was bigger than Optimus’s which was part of the reason he had been holding back. He didn’t want to hurt him, as he had made it clear earlier he had never interfaced before. Even bots who had sometimes had trouble taking his spike, although they had all been smaller than Optimus. When he had been with previous partners he had preferred to use his mouth or valve as they were quicker than trying to prepare someone to take his spike.

Megatron leaned back on his knees between Optimus’s thighs and the bigger bot got up on his elbows so he could get a better look at his spike on full display now. The white and gray folds of his valve were also wet and visible with transfluid but Optimus’s surprised optics were focused intensely on his spike. Long and thick with a silver head and underside, ridged rings of black on the top and sides.

He sat all the way up and looked Megatron in his golden optics, awed. “I...may I?...Would you like me to suck it?”

Megatron made a choking sound in his vocalizer and raised his brows at that. He hadn’t been expecting the question so his answer was an embarrassingly high pitched “yes.” Optimus crawled towards him on his forearms and knees and let his spike press against his face. Megatron shivered as his silver glossa darted out over the head of his spike.

He planted his hands on his own hips hard, he very much wanted to grab his head and push him closer but he didn’t dare. Optimus was still exploring the length of him with his mouth, it felt amazing but it wasn’t nearly enough. He closed his mouth around the head and Megatron groaned as he felt Optimus’s large silver hand wrap around the base of his spike. He wanted to offline his optics so he could concentrate on not overloading into his mouth but the sight of those lips and the feel of that glossa was making his spark gutter dangerously in his chest.

Optimus was sloppy, sucking and licking in maddeningly short bursts, but what he lacked in experience he made up for in enthusiasm. He suddenly had half of spike down his intake and Megatron yelled and grabbed him by the shoulders. Optimus’s mouth left his spike with an obscenely wet pop as he looked up at him, the space between his brow furrowing a bit in worry.

Megatron smiled to try and reassure him as he whispered. “If you keep doing that I won’t last long. I'd like to make good on all my promises though, lean back if you still want me to spike you.”

Optimus rose up on his knees in one fluid motion and splayed out on his back, his knees spread wide open. The view was amazing. Megatron admired the tapered curve of his spike and that lovely silver and blue valve for a second before pulling his aft in closer, lifting one of those massive red and silver legs up over his shoulder. He brought the other in towards his hip and then started to use his fingers, teasing them through his slick folds before plunging two inside him.

Optimus shouted and bucked up against his hand, he tightened his grip on his thigh and scooted in closer. He was so wet that Megatron’s fingers had slid past his first several rings of calipers easily, he curled them and was satisfied with the whimper that wrung out of Optimus. He pulled them out and the bot under him shuddered. He got his attention and held up four fingers, Optimus’s optics were hazy as he nodded yes. Megatron added two more fingers, this was a little harder and he felt his calipers strain and clench around his hand.

Optimus vents were bleeding heat in heavy pants and his optics were a dark navy as he watched Megatron push his fingers in deeper and slowly pull them out to the first knuckle before he pushed them back in, over and over. Soon he was grinding against his palm and his calipers were pulling at his fingers, forcing them in deeper. Megatron moved his fingers apart slightly and must have hit some deep seated internal node because Optimus overloaded hard onto his hand while shouting.

He felt slightly bad as he hadn’t meant to make him overload again quite so soon. Optimus was trembling as he kept moving his fingers inside him through it.

When he withdrew his hand Optimus keened and he watched Megatron with half open optics as he licked his hand clean of his pale blue transfluid.

His mouth moved and at first no sound came out but then Megatron leaned in closer he heard him begging _pleasepleaseplease_.

His own spike was painfully hard and leaking clear transfluid, he shuddered as he ran his slick hand down it, coating it in Optimus’s fluids and his own lubricant. He watched Optimus as he took his other leg, hooking it over his elbow and lined up his spike against the still pulsating folds of his valve before pushing in the head of his spike.

They both made a choked noise as he pushed past the first ring of inner calipers. His engine was straining as he tried to push in slowly even as the calipers inside him were pulling him in greedily, hot and wet, urging him to push in deeper. Each inch he waited and let him stretch around him as he slowly sunk his spike in. He was watching for any signs of pain but Optimus was just shaking, his mouth open in a silent moan.

It felt like it took him ages as he slid in inch by thick inch, trying not to let the slick squeezing heat of Optimus’s valve drive him to overload too soon. Miraculously he bottomed out, his spike fully sunk inside him and his panel grinding against Optimus’s anterior node. The sensation made him cry out and clench around Megatron’s spike which in turn made him swear. He had never gotten his whole spike inside someone like this before and it felt too good. He wasn’t going to last as long as he wanted to.

He startled slightly when he felt Optimus’s massive shaky hand on his face, he looked up from where he was watching their joined bodies, entranced, to meet those burning blue optics.

His voice deep and raw as he spoke. “Move. For the love of Primus please, please move.”

Megatron’s cooling fans were screeching as he gripped his hips hard and pulled his spike halfway out before plunging it back inside him, grinding down against his node. Optimus cried out in garbled static, hands scrambling to hold onto the berth beneath them as he arched his back, pulling Megatron into him even deeper.

He shakily tried to find a shallow rhythm, pushing in at angle hitting all the interior nodes at the back of his valve. Optimus was writhing under him, his vocalizer was spitting garbled words as he tried to hold onto the berth with flailing hands. He could feel the charge building between them, arching up his spike into his own valve. He did several more shaking thrusts before Optimus’s intake sucked in air hard as he overloaded, both his neglected spike and overstimulated valve spurting transfluid between them.

Megatron moaned lowly as he allowed his spike to sink all the way inside that grasping heat as he overloaded himself, charge and transfluid spilling heavily into Optimus’s overflow tanks making the bigger bot whimper. He offlined his optics as he let the charge tear through his overheated systems. He rocked against him and felt Optimus reach up and pull his face down for a messy kiss. He onlined his optics and almost moaned at how dreamily Optimus was looking at him as they kissed, his softening spike still buried deep inside him. He was starting to pull out when he felt Optimus clench around him, hard.

The bigger mech murmured. “Stay inside me a bit longer, please?”

Megatron was exhausted but it wasn’t a request he was ever going to deny. Instead he nodded, removed his leg from his shoulder and laid down on top of him, still inside him. He felt Optimus’s shaking hand tracing light circles on his back and he looked up to see him admiring him again with slitted optics.

Megatron pressed a kiss to his chest and murmured against it. “As much as I would love to do that again I think I’m going to need to recharge and refuel first.”

Optimus laughed and the vibration of it rang up through his oversensitive spike. He shuddered as Optimus spoke. “Agreed. I just wanted to hold you for a while longer. Selfish I know.”

Megatron lifted his head, his brows ridges drawn down together. “Did you think I was going to leave right afterwards? I was planning on staying the night and recharging with you but if you don’t want to I can go.”

Optimus’s optics went wide as he sputtered "Yes! Stay, please!" and Megatron laughed lightly as he sat up and carefully took his spike out of Optimus’s valve. They both shook a little as it slid all the way out and Megatron watched Optimus stand with great effort and stagger over to the washroom. He came back with some solvent and a mesh cloth and gently cleaned them and the berth up. He leaned back against the berth and Optimus climbed in gingerly next to him after he was done, shy all of a sudden.

Megatron huffed and pulled him closer as they faced each other on their sides. He carefully draped Optimus’s arm over himself and buried his face against his chest plating. He felt his spark sing under his head and smiled at that fact that they were both covered in some very telling paint transfers right now. Optimus ex-vented deeply and tightened his arms around him as he rested his chin on Megatron’s head.

Megatron kissed his chest lightly. “Goodnight Optimus.”

He heard Optimus gulp before he responded quietly. “Goodnight Megatron.”

They were both still warm and strutless from some pretty spectacular interfacing. He had to admit it felt good to held like this. The feeling of being protected lulled Megatron off into a deep recharge with a smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The bit of poetry in here is once again from "The Things We Dare Not Tell" by Henry Lawson. 
> 
> The song that Megatron and Optimus dance to is the "Lost Elf Theme" from the Dragon Age Inquisition Trespasser soundtrack if you want to listen to it while you read that bit.
> 
> Wooooo! We made it to the clanging ya'll. There's more of it to be had but I hope it was good with all the build up in this chapter. I love how absolutely poleaxed Optimus is about the whole dating and boning thing. Whereas Megs is being taken apart by all the holding and tenderness. 
> 
> Chapter 8 is done but I'm not posting it until I finish chapter 9 which might be longer than a week as I have to work on my Transformers Bigbang. <3 This monster of a fic is 47500k words right now and it'll probably be just shy of 60k when I'm done. I hope ya'll are enjoying it so far, the next chapter is going to be a bit of a rollercoaster though. 
> 
> And again if ya'll have a Twitter I'm @ BasilBing over there and I post lots of Transformers stuff and like tidbits of fic and disability activism things if you want to follow. <3


	8. The Library

Megatron was pulled up out of recharge by the sensation of one large hand massaging his back and shoulder, the other teasing lower down his stomach plating. His engine let out a deep purr as he onlined his optics and looked up to see Optimus smiling down at him. 

Megatron returned his smile. “I could get used to waking up like this.”

Optimus chuckled as his hand brazenly brushed across Megatron’s closed array panel. “I never want to wake up any other way.”

Megatron huffed in amusement as he slid his leg up and placed his thigh over Optimus’s hip giving him room to work his hand against his panel. He raised a brow ridge at him and Optimus obliged. He began to press and grind his palm against the front of his panel until Megatron ex-vented and retracted it. Both their vents hitched when Optimus’s fingers trailed through the folds of his dampening valve.

Megatron pulled him in closer with his leg as those questing fingers played with his entrance. They were still gazing into each other’s optics as he began to carefully enter him with two fingers. Optimus’s optics were glowing in affectionate wonder, and Megatron reached up and slowly brought his head down to kiss him. Those fingers stuttered inside him at first but then began to move deeper and harder as Megatron deepened their kiss with a moan. His engine roared as his cooling fans clicked on. 

Optimus sighed against his mouth as he added third finger to push up inside him. The stretch was wonderful and he ground against his palm to get it to stimulate his anterior node with each thrust. His teeth bit lightly on those beautiful silver lips and Optimus groaned against his mouth. Their pace was slow and languid. And to his delight, surprisingly tender. He never had a chance to interface like this before, it had always been a hurried affair in the mines, and he was thoroughly enjoying it.

Megatron murmured against his lips. “Alright. I concede this is the best possible way to wake up.”

Laughter rumbled through Optimus’s chest as he curled his fingers inside his now slick valve and Megatron bucked up against them. He swallowed hard as he ground down against his fingers. “You know you can use something other than your fingers.”

Optimus’s engine turned over and growled against Megatron’s chest as he withdrew his wet fingers from inside him. He heard his panel transform back but was surprised when Optimus lined their hips up and released his spike directly into him. They both groaned in unison as it fully pressurized and pushed deep inside. Megatron pulled his leg against his hip tighter pushing him all the way in.

Optimus shuddered against him. “You feel so incredible, I want to make you overload like this but I don’t know, if I can...hn...last.”

He smirked and clenched his valve tightly around him. He watched with satisfaction as Optimus threw his head back mouthing “frag.”

Megatron grinned. “We can work on your...longevity later. For now it’s fine as long as you move. I need you to move.”

Optimus nodded vigorously and slid his hand down to grip under Megatron’s aft, pulling his leg up higher, as he thrust into him. Both their vents hissed as he hit some internal nodes at the back of his valve. A few more experimental deep thrusts and Megatron wasn’t sure he’d last long either.

They moved together languidly, hip plating grinding as Megatron’s valve cycled down on his spike. He sloppily kissed him as he could feel the charge building between their two bodies. Optimus keened into his mouth as he overloaded, hot spurts of transfluid flowing inside him.

Megatron growled and clenched around him through his shuddering overload, trying to chase his own, while wringing the last waves of pleasure out of Optimus. He ground there arrays together, Optimus’s spike was still pressurized inside him even though he was now staring at him with dazed optics. Megatron wasn’t quite there, he ex-vented in frustration. Then he smirked and pushed up hard with his hips, Optimus still inside him, to flip him on his back.

Megatron was now sitting on top of him. Optimus stared up him in awe as he started to ride his now very sensitive spike. Megatron took his own pleasure, sliding his hips up and down, moving in little circles, his anterior node grinding against Optimus’s retracted array paneling. His charge let out little turquoise sparks where their bodies met and he ex-vented hard as Optimus raised his shaking hands to knead the transformation scenes in his hips. He threw his head back and shouted Optimus’s name as he overloaded.

It came in waves of warm heat and pleasure. Megatron kept circling his hips to chase the last of that tumbling overload. Optimus groaned Megatron’s name as his valve calipers clutched his spike whirling heavily. Both of them were ex-venting hard as he rose off his spike and laid down next to him.

Optimus laid there blissed out for a while before he  retracted his spike and got up to get something to clean both of them with. He was even more unsteady on his feet than last night.

Megatron watched him fondly. “As much as I would like to work on your stamina right now, we definitely need to refuel”

Optimus brought back a solvent soaked cloth and they cleaned each other affectionately before he moved to pour them both a large cube of energon. Megatron got up and took his cube to the large mercury hued  table in the center of Optimus’s room. He finished the first cube and got up to pour himself another as Optimus moved over towards the table.

He wordlessly offered to fill his cube again as well and brought both cubes over to the table. They drank in companionable silence and when he finished his second cube Megatron stood and stretched his hands over his head, arching his back. He offlined his optics in relief as he felt several of his lower back struts pop. He had been in that leg over the hips position a little too long.  

He felt Optimus move smoothly to stand up in front of him, large hands bracing his hips as he leaned in. “You’re so beautiful, I’m finding it hard to pay attention to anything else.”

Megatron onlined an optic to check to see that he was being sincere. He still wasn’t used to being called beautiful, but Optimus’s face was so smitten he knew he meant it. His spark hummed warmly in his chest as he leaned back and sat down on the edge of the table. Optimus moved in between his spread thighs and leaned down to cup his face. They kissed again, glossa running over each other, he hummed happily in his mouth and started to reach between them to finger Optimus’s panel.

“I can leave my sensory input off but I would prefer that you both not interface on top of me.”

Megatron jumped off the table as if his aft was on fire at the sound of the soft even voice, Optimus stumbled back away from him as well.

Optimus looked mortified as he mumbled. “I’m so sorry Skyfire. I was not thinking...particularly clearly, we will not do that again.”

Megatron’s head whipped around, his golden optics narrowing at Optimus. “Did you just say Skyfire?”

Optimus cringed and flinched away from his accusing glare. “I wanted to tell you sooner but Skyfire insisted I wait. He believed you would tell Starscream of his continued functioning.”

Megatron’s mouth fell open incredulously. “Of course I’m going to tell Starscream! He may be an aft but he’s been mourning Skyfire for 500 years, he’s miserable! Why in the pit would you hide this from him?!”

It was the mirrored table that answered, or rather Skyfire from within it. “It was my decision. After the destruction of my body at the hands on Onyx Prime Optimus was able to save my spark using the Matrix. Wheeljack assured me that they would eventually be able to rebuild my frame but until then he placed me into a digital containment cell.”

“I quickly found that I was able to process information at a nearly unlimited capacity while in this form. I asked to be placed within the citadel’s closed network so I could continue my work. This station is the main hub for all the tower’s automated functions as well as the only connection to the outside cybernet. As the years went by I decided that I didn’t wish to regain my corporeal form, as I am a much better researcher and scientist like this.”

Megatron wasn’t sure where Skyfire’s face even was so he glared at the whole table. “That explains why you are currently a mirror but not why you’ve let him think you were dead all this time.”

Skyfire almost sounded sheepish in his response. “I love Star but he can be...distracting. I missed him of course and hated to see him grieve but I was getting so much work done all of sudden. Breakthroughs and new paths to try in the research that I hadn’t been able to pursue when we were together. After I decided I wanted to stay like this I thought it might be better if he just never learned I had survived.”

He stared at the reflective surface blankly. “You let your sparkmate think you were dead for 500 years because it allowed you to get more  _ work _ done?”

Skyfire huffed. “It wasn’t just any work, I’ve made strides in deep space communications using latent frequencies and developed a quantum theory of multidimensional resonance, I’ve also been working on,”

Megatron cut him off with a snarl. “If you ever loved him you would have never even considered doing this him. He’s a person not a particularly troublesome math equation! The very least you owe him is the truth, you tell him now or I will!”

With that he rounded on Optimus who shrank under his ferocious glare. “ You lied to him too! What’s your excuse for not telling Starscream about Skyfire?”

Skyfire cut in. “I made him and Wheeljack both promise never to tell him. Starscream wouldn’t have believed Optimus anyway as he is under the assumption he vaporized me instead of Onyx Prime.”

Megatron let out a frustrated vent and watched as Optimus’s shoulders sagged. He looked dejected and Megatron almost felt bad for him, almost.

He gazed up at Megatron pitifully. “I knew it was wrong but I followed Skyfire’s wishes. That responsibility is mine and I will issue Starscream a sincere apology.”

Megatron was going to say he owed Starscream more than one when Optimus continued uncomfortably. “As long as we are sharing all our secrets there is something else I need to show you. You might as well see it now while you are already angry with me.”

Megatron got a bitter taste in his mouth. He did not like the sound of that.

Optimus warily motioned for him to follow him and led him back down his private staircase. They descended in silence. The deeper they went the more dread he was feeling, round and around into the lower levels below the ground. They actually hit the end of the staircase and Optimus walked them down a dimly lit corridor with a set of gleaming black doors at the end. 

He stopped abruptly in front of the onyx doors and turned to face Megatron, not meeting his optics. “This is the reason I haven’t left to try and find a way to free everyone here. What’s behind these doors is what has been weighing most heavily on my processor, as I have known about it since being stationed here. I was one of the few who knew it was here besides Senator Shockwave, but only because I had been charged with guarding it. I’m showing it to you in hopes that you can help me decide what should be done with it.”

With that he heavily ex-vented and pushed open the sharp gleaming black doors. Megatron followed him inside warily and gasped, his hand flying over his mouth in horror.

The lights inside came on row after row revealing shelf after shelf of glass cases. Inside each one, linked together by glowing lines of power were thousands of memory sticks, matte gray as their color had drained away in death long ago. Megatron’s spark was pounding dangerously in his chest.

_ Yes, the disposable classes were waiting in the days of warlord and Prime, _

_ And the disposable classes are waiting, they've been waiting the entire time, _

Optimus’s voice was broken as he whispered. “This is the collected knowledge of our people, millions of years worth of all kinds of data. Sentinel, and Nominus before him, had every bot with a  memory stick alt-mode decommissioned. Not all at once, that would have drawn too much attention to the genocide, but over the years more and more of them ‘disappeared.’ Functionist propaganda artfully painted them as truly disposable, non-sentient, so few people noticed.”

_ At city entry stations, you may see them as you pass, _

_ there are signboards on the platform saying "Wait here disposable class," _

“I was forged to be a police officer in Iacon. I was fresh out of the academy when I caught my first big case, a missing persons. At least that was what it looked like at first. Then about halfway through my investigation the person I was searching for no longer existed. Not that he had been killed per say but that he had never existed in the first case. I searched every database I had been using, years worth of security footage and legal documentation had been altered. It was as if he had never been. His conjunx refused to give up searching for him. I privately searched for him as well, my first case, a missing memory stick. I was later assigned to investigate his conjunx’s apparent suicide. I knew it wasn’t though.”

_ There's a transformed train, with Mortilus for a driver, that is ever going past; _

_ There will be no class compartments when it's "all aboard" at last _

“I dug too deep, learned too much about what had happened to him, to Rewind. His name was Rewind. I was then approached by Sentinel Prime himself. He told me of what they were doing with the memory sticks. I was horrified, rightfully, but he offered me a deal anyway. Probably the same one he offered Rewind’s conjunx Dominus Ambus so he knew that I knew what refusing it meant. It wasn’t really a choice, I was cowardly, I didn’t want to die. So I came here as head of security and took up the post of guarding this ‘library’ if you can stand to call it that. But as you know Senator Shockwave had other plans for me.”

_ And there won't be any signboards, saying "Disposable class wait here." _

He stopped and gestured hollowly at the rows and rows of glowing glass. “I...finally found him. Here amongst the stacks and I couldn’t even bury him properly next to his conjunx. I have no idea what the right thing to do with this place is. The information held here is of dire importance but the price feels too steep for me. Sometimes I want to burn it all down. This library, the citadel, the whole damned Senate. But then I remember them, not even together in death, and it all seems so futile. Nothing we do will bring them back.”

Megatron’s spark was still pounding irregularly when he took Optimus’s hand in his. The other bot jumped, eventually grasping his hand back. “No. But we can make sure this never happens again. Their murders were senseless but we can honor them. We need to tell everyone about this data and all of us collectively, every member of the ‘disposable class,’ needs to have a say. This is not something that you should be deciding on your own. I’m holding the consortium tomorrow. It’s time everyone picked a side.”

Optimus squeezed his hand hard before releasing it. His optics were a dark navy when he spoke lowly. “You’ve decided to go the war then?”

Megatron rounded on him but his tone was measured and determined. “You’re not a Prime like Sentinel. You don’t want the immense burden of true leadership, never have, would give it up in an instant if you thought you could. He’s different. He hungers for power and dominance and would do anything to hold on to them. Kill hundreds of thousands of people to hold onto to his position. A bot like Sentinel will not cede his power willingly, there isn’t anything else we can do besides fight him. You are not my enemy, not Cybertron’s enemy.”

“I don’t want to fight you. I will, however, fight every Senator and Councilmech like Sentinel. This fight will not end with words. You know Sentinel even better than I do. You know it’s the truth. I will put forth my position at the consortium, you can rebuke it if you wish. We’ll all vote because even I shouldn’t be the only one to have the final say in this if we are finally starting to fight back.”

He turned to go and stopped at the doorway. When he looked back Optimus was facing one of the hexagonal clear glass cases, his hand heavy on the surface, his optics offlined.

Megatron swallowed hard and fled down the corridor back to the staircase. He was numb. All the steps back up to Optimus’s quarters passed as a crystal blurr. The weight of that tomb of knowledge down below was pulling his shoulders down. He sent a quick message out to everyone he had coms for, and posted a public forum message, announcing the consortium would be tomorrow.

He told Skyfire what he wanted to do with a shared digital space and the disembodied bot agreed to set it up using his cybernet access. Megatron then told the mech he was going to go get Starscream and expected him to do the right thing. He walked outside into the darkened corridor of the West Wing and commed Starscream telling him to come to Optimus’s room.

He got a snarky reply about his interfacing habits from him until he told him that it was about Skyfire. A few minutes later the seeker flew into view, sailing cautiously at chest level towards him.

Megatron addressed him solemnly. “Go in and land on the table, I’ll shut the door after you.”

Starscream wavered at his tone but didn’t reply as he entered the room. He shut the door behind him. Megatron knew he shouldn’t listen in but he wanted to at least make sure Skyfire actually followed through and told him the truth. There were a couple minutes of  silence and then a lot of screaming, along with what sounded like a bunch of tiny explosions, some glass breaking, and an ominous deep creaking noise. He turned up his audials and caught a few snippets of Starscream’s screeching.

“You let me think you were dead for 500 years because you wanted to have more time to do SCIENCE! YOU RUSTED OUT SLAGGING PIECE OF SCRAP, FRAGGING SON OF A GLITCH!”

Followed quickly by: “I LOVED YOU! YOU DIDN’T DESERVE ME YOU RUST EATING SMELTED WASTE OF PROCESSING! WE ARE NO LONGER CONJUNX, YOU DON’T DESERVE ME AND YOUNEVER DID!”

After some more choice explitatives, that he was going to have to remember because they were quite creative, there was more sounds of breaking glass. Eventually their conversation lowered to a murmur he couldn’t hear so he stopped trying to eavesdrop. He knew he should probably go somewhere else to give them privacy but he wanted to be there when Starscream came out to see if he was alright. After about an hour the door opened from the inside and the small tri-color jet hovered out.

He spoke before Megatron could. “Before you ask, no I am not alright, and no this does not mean I want to speak to you. Regardless, thank you for having the damned gears to tell me the truth. Everyone else who knew, but didn’t can burn for all I care.”

He didn’t wait for a reply before darting off down the hallway. Megatron cautiously entered Optimus’s quarters and was slightly relieved that it wasn’t as destroyed as it had sounded. The mirrored table containing Skyfire was cracked in several places. The surface was also dulled and marked with several black streaks of soot from explosions. There was glass on the floor and he tried to avoid stepping on it and grinding it in as he approached the table.

Skyfire let out deep hum. “Well. He took it better than I thought he would actually.”

Megatron raised a skeptical brow ridge at that. “You’re right, you deserved much worse than a cracked face and a few scorch marks.”

Skyfire sounded slightly awed when he spoke but it was hard to tell because he didn’t have a body or face to emote with. “I had forgotten just how passionate he can be. It was impressive. I...I missed that...I missed him.”

Megatron’s voice was dripping with disdain when he replied. “No. You don’t get to miss him, you and only you are why you’re in this situation in the first place. Don’t you dare try and act like you want him again all of sudden, that kind of selfishness will likely destroy you both. And honestly he deserves better.”

Skyfire spat static with the vocalizer inside the table. When he didn’t reply Megatron shook his head and walked over to Optimus’s berth. He checked the replies to details about the consortium tomorrow and responded to a few before opening his writing program.

 

_ And my dreams are strange dreams, are day dreams, are grey dreams, _

_    And my dreams are wild dreams, and old dreams and new; _

_    They haunt me and daunt me with fears of the next day, _

_    My brothers they doubt me, but my dreams come true. _

 

_ I rest not, it’s best not, the world is a wide one _

_    And, caged for an hour, I pace to and fro; _

_    I see things and dream things and plan while I'm sleeping, _

_    I wander for ever and think as I go. _

 

_ For my ways are strange ways and new ways and old ways, _

_    And deep ways and steep ways and high ways and low; _

_    I'm at home and at ease on a track that I know not, _

_    And restless and lost on a road that I know. _

 

He heard Optimus come in and freeze when he saw him sitting on the berth writing. When Megatron didn’t acknowledge him he slowly made his way to Skyfire and started to diligently clean up the broken glass. Optimus bent over and scooped it up with his hands before disposing up it in the incineration shoot in the wall by the energon dispenser. After that he hesitated, wringing his big silver hands before approaching Megatron like he might run away at any moment.

When he spoke it was soft and low. “I wasn’t sure you’d still be here when I came up from the lower levels.”

Megatron didn’t look up from his writing. “I’m done running. We both are.” He patted the berth behind him.

Optimus relaxed immediately and slotted in behind him, legs on either side of his hips, arms wrapped loosely around his midsection with his forehead resting on his back in between his shoulders. He mumbled into his shoulder paneling. “I’m sorry. I should have told you about Skyfire and...the mausoleum in basement sooner.”

Megatron ex-vented heavily and put his datapad back in his subspace before threading their hands together on his waist. “I certainly wasn’t making it easy for you to open up these last couple weeks. But no more secrets alright? I’m not going anywhere and neither are you. When I take the floor at the consortium tomorrow I want you to be standing with me. I want you to tell them all the truth, what happened while you were a cop in Iacon, how you were made Prime, what you know about Sentinel’s and Senate’s corruption. I’m going to propose we organize an insurrection. They’ve been waging a silent war against all of us for millions of years now, it’s time we fight back.”

Optimus shuddered against him. “I was afraid you were going to say that. Sometimes it feels like none of us have a choice, like it was always meant to end this way regardless of what we wanted. Do you ever feel as if you’ve been manipulated into all of this?”

Megatron went rigid. He knew he had been.

Knew that Terminus had been grooming him to lead a revolution. That everyone one of his friends on the cybernet would gladly sacrifice him to the jaws of war if it meant that everyone could one day be free. He knew all of this and he did what was asked of him any way.

There was no other choice to be made.

Sometimes he wished he could leave it all, leave the planet, leave the galaxy to someplace wild and free and faraway. Be like Optimus and seal himself away in a tower and just write. But as long as everyone couldn’t do that, didn’t have the option to do that, he couldn’t leave. Optimus was right, all of this was inevitable, he simply hoped his actions and the actions of those he cared about would be enough.

Megatron squeezed his hand harder. “I know I have been. The problem is I would have done all of it any way. They didn’t need to force me just needed to show me where the lines were drawn and I made my own choices as to what to do about them. Which just so happened to be what they wanted. A revolution.”

Optimus pulled him in against his chest tighter. “Until now I would have gladly died for this cause, laid down my life so that others would never have to live as I have. But now I am afraid. I dread my own demise because it will likely mean we all will die here. And I can’t...I will not, watch you die for this.”

Megatron chuckled darkly while pulling one of Optimus’s hands to his lips, placing a kiss on the knuckles. “As much as I appreciate the sentiment, when it comes down to it I suspect we both won’t have much of a choice in that regard. I do promise I won’t actively try to martyr myself though.”

Optimus vented a wave of heat across his back and shoulders. “If that’s the best promise I’m going to get out of you I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

Megatron laughed and pushed back against him, lowering them both to lay back against the berth. “Were you ever going to, now that you have me?”

He looked up into to his fiery blue optics and was rewarded with a smile as Optimus leaned down to kiss him. “No. But I would have made a valiant effort to try and give you a head start.”

Megatron smiled against his lips and murmured “How noble of you.” as Optimus laughed, moving down to lightly kiss his cheeks and jaw. They stayed like that, intertwined in lazy touches and meandering kisses.

It felt right. Just being with him, touching him, loving him.

Megatron’s spark lept. He was in love with him.

He wasn’t sure if this realization made their current situation better or worse. Only time would tell and tomorrow would definitely be a test of their fledgling relationship. He wasn’t sure what this meant for the “curse” either. If he was in love with him then shouldn’t all the bots in the citadel have returned to normal?

Well there was the second half of the prophecy, that Optimus had to love him in return. Maybe he didn’t and that was why nothing had changed in the tower. The sighing kisses placed against his forehead and neck cables said differently but he didn’t know for sure. He wouldn’t unless he said it aloud. And Megatron wasn’t quite ready for that yet.

He let those large silver hands pull and tease the tension from his frame as they both fell into recharge, deeply tangled up in each other.

The next morning was a flurry of activity.

With some help from the science team they repaired Skyfire’s, mostly, cosmetic damage and set up Optimus’s quarters for hosting a digital space. Almost everyone in the citadel showed up to participate in the consortium of minds.

Starscream was conspicuously absent but even Ironhide had come to see what all the fuss was about. Megatron had all the bots gathered hook up to a shared local network that Skyfire was going to use his secura data line to project into a digital space. Everyone was encouraged to use an avatar but Megatron would be going as himself and so would Optimus. He suspected others who were either brave or foolish would also being using their real frames in the shared digital space.

When Skyfire first brought it online everything was white, there was a solid white floor he was standing on but no horizon, just a blank field. He heard several excited gasps and turned around to truly see his friends, or at least their avatars, for the first time. Bumblebee was a minibot with yellow and black plating, he was excitedly hugging the red and white medic Ratchet around the waist.

Neither of them could technically feel the contact but both their blue optics were lighting up with joy. The purple and white bot Nautica was also hugging teal Velocity with their helms pressed forehead to forehead intimately. His optics landed on Arcee. She looked exactly how he had imaged her bot mode, lithe, sleek, and deadly. Her alt-mode’s hood was a compact pink backpack and her blue optics were hard until they met his and she smiled.

He really wanted to follow Bee’s example with Ratchet and hug her, instead he just grinned back. They would embrace soon enough when everyone was here was finally free.

Brainstorm’s white and teal frame was practically vibrating as his wings flitted back forth next to Perceptor who looked embarrassed as he reached out and took Brainstorm’s hand in his black one. Brainstorm went stock still and stared down at their clasped hands with wide yellow optics.

Megatron quickly averted his gaze to the rest of the bots, they were all doing some variation of the aforementioned. There was a lot of excited hugging and touching of faces with hands for the first time in 500 years. He turned to Optimus, who had his battlemask back on. He was using it to hide how uncomfortable he was.

Megatron could tell just by looking at him how nervous he was, he reached out and placed a comforting hand to his shoulder. “You’re not alone this time. We’re all here doing this together.”

Optimus let out a heavy ex-vent. “I know. And yet I am still worried. Isn’t that normal for any public speaking though?”

Megatron laughed quietly and squeezed his arm before addressing Skyfire. “Alright I think we’re all ready. Spin it up!”

Skyfire sent him an affirmative ping and the white space around them all bubbled into life. A wave of visual static rippled across his field of vision as rows and rows of seats appeared before him. The tower bots had the floor and were all standing in the middle of a white and silver metal stage, surrounded on all sides by circular rings of seats. It looked exactly like the senatorial auditorium in Iacon. Which was ironic and in slightly poor taste considering what they were here for.

Megatron smirked and then turned to everyone. “Alright. I’m going to launch this chat space and send it live onto the cybernet, is everyone ready?”

He got a bunch of nods and affirmative pings and then he felt Optimus grab his hand and hold it tightly. Megatron flicked his yellow optics towards him and could tell he was smiling behind his mask.

He knew he should be nervous as well, he had posted manifestos and writings on the cybernet but had never spoken in person. Well, he wasn’t technically doing that now either but he was using his real name and visage and speaking semi-publicly. This would be a test of his metal.

And he found he was ready, if he succeeded or failed he would have the bots here on stage with him. That hand holding his made all the difference in steadying his resolve. He was resolute.

Megatron gripped his hand tighter. “Alright Skyfire, launch the the room.”

Almost immediately bots started to flicker into existence in the stands. Faster than his optics could follow they materialized, or their avatars did, flashes of every color and shape showed up before him. There were thousands of them, probably more as he could tell some bots were lurking anonymously in the wings of them room, their avatars gray see through blobs.

He supposed that was to be expected, not everyone here would want their face attache to the conversation they were about to have. His own connection was encrypted under several different mods and this space was being hosted at multiple hubs around Cybertron. He was ready to show his own face now but didn’t want to put the citadel bots in any unnecessary danger. Megatron waited a few more minutes for more people to arrive and Skyfire sent him an internal com informing him that there were 200,000 distinct users in the room and counting.

This was now the largest gathering of Cybertronians outside of war that had occured since Primus gave his Primal Pastoral, supposedly on the site of where The Crystal City was built. That gave him pause.

Rings, and rings, within rings. Everything was falling into some sort of pattern he couldn’t fully grasp and Optimus’s words about fate from the previous evening came back to him. He didn’t personally believe in predestination, not like the Functionists anyway, but this was all eerily familiar.

Megatron swallowed hard and let go of Optimus’s hand before stepping forward to address the crowd. None of them could see him until he spoke and as he did all optics in the room landed on him. “Welcome my fellow Cybertronians. My name is Megatron of Tarn. You may know me best for my writings as my pseudonym Pax-Domini. If you are familiar with my writings then it should come as no surprise that I called this consortium. I wish for every bot to speak their mind and be heard. I wish for every bot to be free to live as they choose in the manner they choose. There is no disposable class here in this space. Everyone’s words carry great significance.

Though before I open the forum for comments there is someone I want you to hear speak first. His experiences and knowledge will shape the course this discussion is to take. Step forward Optimus Prime and speak your truth.”

He felt the gathered room’s attention lift off his shoulders and slam into Optimus as his avatar flickered into visibility next to him. He bore up under the weight of admirably and then cleared his vocalizer before he addressed the crowd.

He started at the beginning. Megatron watched the sea of faces and saw their shock and their disgust at the story he told. There was a susurration of angry voices when Optimus revealed that the fuel shortages had been the Senator’s and Sentinel’s doing. The entire room was dead silent though when he spoke of the genocide of the memory sticks and what now lay buried under Cybertron.

He didn’t give away where the tomb now sat but Sentinel knew which was why he didn’t mention he was still in The Crystal City guarding it. When Optimus finally finished Skyfire notified him that someone else wished to take the floor.

Skyfire was moderating the discussion as his current processing power was well suited to dealing with thousands of individual data points simultaneously. Megatron let the new speaker materialize. It was a red and black flyer with a white face bearing the Spectralist markings of a City Speaker. Skyfire informed him her name was Windblade, designation Spectralist priestess.

She turned and nodded at both him and Optimus before addressing the crowd. “I am Windblade of Cerebex, and I am a City Speaker for the Titan Metroplex. We have communed many times and although I find his mind hard to grasp in its infinite capacity he has shown me similarly troubling things to the events described by this Optimus Prime. While I cannot verify everything he has said I will vouch for what was done to the memory sticks. I have seen this atrocity in Metroplex’s memories and been unable to do anything about it until now.”

“I realize I am a bot of high privilege as a priestess of the Thirteen but even I could have been just as easily disposed of as the memory sticks if I had chosen to speak up. I speak up now because I am ready to lay down my spark in service of justice. There has been no justice. Unless we dismantle the systems that currently oppress us there will be no justice. I would hear what others have to say on a course of action. Especially you Megatron of Tarn.”

He sent her a private voice com. “Well said.”

She nodded and then her form flickered back into the stadium of faces. “I have been as silent as Metroplex for a thousand years, do not thank me for my cowardice. It is easy to add one’s voice to a sea of indignant voices, it is truly brave to be the first lone shout for justice.”

Megatron nodded. “I appreciate your voice regardless of its timing Windblade. Thank you.”

She sent an affirmative ping then was silent. Skyfire informed him others wished to speak and he watched as several bots took the floor to confirm their own pieces of Optimus’s story.

One such bot was Prowl of Petrex. He was a cop and had been at the same station as Optimus when he had been Orion Pax. He made it very clear that he didn’t support a violent uprising but that something must be done about the corruption in Senate and Council. The twisted plotting and planning of which he had witnessed firsthand. Megatron was waiting for Soundwave to add his voice to the conversation. He knew he was there somewhere in the crowd but he hadn’t responded to any of his internal coms yet.

As more bots told their personal stories of suffering under the regime more asked for permission to speak. It was like opening a floodgate of trauma and pain. After one particularly terrifying story about the shadowplay going on in the bowels of every city in Cybertron, Megatron decided to take the floor once again.

He swept his arm at the massive arena around him. “Each and every one of you has a story, a life. We have all been affected by the injustices and oppression of our current system. Some of us more faintly than others but still it rankles our sparks. What I am proposing is not some grand all encompassing solution, it is not some violent civil war, it will be hard work and it will involve sacrifice. I wish for Cybertron to truly be a republic. I wish hold it to a vote. Every one bot will have one vote regardless of who or what they are.”

“So bots shall we rise up, depose the government, and replace it with an elected body of representatives that will make the laws and be beholden to each and every one of their constituents? Should we destroy the laws and regulations banning us from the jobs we dream of, the lives we want to live? Dare we take the power from the few at the top that hoard our fuel and resources and redistribute it to all who need it so that together we can thrive? And on a smaller scale dare we to hope that we can love and laugh and be friends again without the fear of starvation and death looming over our heads? I wish to put it to a vote. Yea or Nay should we revolt?”

The sound from the sea of faces was a rising roar. Skyfire had set up the voting so that everyone could respond once either yes, no, or undecided. The answers started flooding in and it was an overwhelming yes. He felt Optimus’s hand on his shoulder and looked up to see his worried blue optics. He sent Megatron an internal image of his HUD. He had voted yes. Megatron placed his hand over his on his shoulder and smiled.

There was a sudden blast of static in everyone’s field of vision and Megatron heard an internal alarm of some sort as Skyfire attempted to stop the brute force hacking that was occurring. A shower of pixels began to coalesce in front of him and as they rose from the ground up they started to form the unmistakable maroon frame of Sentinel Prime. Before he could even react to the massive gold and red bot in front of him Optimus became visible next to him and grabbed his shoulders hard, pushing him back behind him.

Sentinel retracted his golden battlemask and sneered at Optimus who was the only bot the same height as he was on the floor. “I see that you still live Orion. I was hoping you had done us all a favor and finally snuffed yourself. I suppose it is just in your nature to be a squeaky gear.”

Megatron felt it more than saw it as thousands of bots fled the server in a panicked mass exodus. Skyfire informed him that only ten thousand remained and their number was dwindling.

He opened his mouth to call out to them but Optimus spoke first. “Whatever your intentions here are Sentinel know that I will not let any of those gathered come to harm at your hands.”

Megatron’s spark sank as he continued to receive urgent updates from Skyfire in his HUD as the hacking dragged everyone’s data. They were all probably being put on some sort of kill list right this minute. Public executions for the lower classes, private assassinations for those upper echelon bots who allied themselves with the people. Whoever was in the multiple systems gathering all their data had just condemned everyone here to death. The Senate would be all too eager to make an example of them.

Sentinel laughed in Optimus’s face. “Oh Orion! You may be a false Prime now but you are still just as idealistic and foolhardy as ever. There is nothing you or your little lower caste pet can do to stop me. I have the full force of the Cybertronian army, the Primal Vanguard, every cop in every city, and a company of private mercenaries behind me. What do you have? A bunch of janitors, construction workers, miners, a medic or two?”

Arcee snapped into place to the left of Sentinel, her glowing white plasma sword leveled at his throat. “He has one of the sword hands of Solus Prime at his side.”

Ratchet snapped into existence to the right of him along with Bumblebee. Bumblebee’s fists were spitting electricity and Ratchet’s arm had transformed into a large scalpel blade as it was leveled at Sentinel’s chest above his spark. “And medic with a mind for defending his friends is not someone to trifle with.”

Sentinel rolled his Matrix blue optics and opened his mouth to speak before Megatron moved from behind Optimus to confront him. “It is not just us you will have to contend with if you seek to punish those who gathered here to discuss a better future. How loyal do you think your cops and soldiers will be when asked to kill their friends and families? Will all of them truly lay down their sparks and the sparks of their loved ones for your greed and lust for power?”

Sentinel scoffed and finally turned his derisive gaze to Megatron. “That is your problem little miner, you’ve never known your place. I’m not going to kill everyone who participated in this charade, just you and your false Prime here. The rest simply need a little ‘re-education’ and they’ll fall back into their proper cog place in grand machine. Everything will go on as before, business as usual.”

Optimus growled low in his engine. “No. This has gone on for too long already. There is no going back. The people have spoken and they no longer wish to be governed by you and the Senate. Step down Sentinel. If you do not we shall make you.”

Sentinel threw his golden head back and cackled. “It is almost endearing that you think you can do anything to me, let alone make me step down. You’ve got 24 hours until I and my army march on your little crystal citadel and slaughter you and your band of miscreants. Thanks to my loyal agent I know all about where you are and how you fair. But you only have your little gray mining drill’s trusting nature to blame for that. I look forward to ripping his spark out in front you before I take your head off.”

Optimus roared and rushed him as Sentinel simply vanished from the simulated environment. Megatron wasn’t paying much attention to that as his distressed optics had found Soundwave in the crowd.

He had never seen his frame but he knew it was him, the blue and white bot had a clear cassette deck on his chest. His red visor was burning as it met Megatron’s panicked stare. His blue hands clenched open and shut at his sides as Megatron tried to send him a string of internal coms. He never responded to any of them and when Sentinel vanished from the room he slowly faded out of visibility as well.

It felt as if his spark had turned to lead in his chest. He had condemned them all to death. He had a new family and Sentinel was going to come and destroy it just like he had the last one. 

Megatron felt his legs buckle under him as he sunk to the ground with a loud thunk. Optimus whipped around and started to move towards him as he told Skyfire to end the program. The space rippled and was gone, leaving everyone shaken as they were gathered in a circle around Skyfire’s metallic table in Optimus’s quarters.

Megatron was still on his knees, staring down at his hands as he felt Optimus kneel heavily down next to him and wrap his arms around his shoulders. Everyone started talking at once, some people were screaming but it all sounded strangely far away. He felt Optimus take his chin in his hand and turn his face to look at him, his battlemask retracted, his face full of pain and concern. He watched him mouth his name but he didn’t hear sound.

Both of them jolted in shock when Arcee’s high pitched yell cut through everyone else's’ loud arguing.

When the room suddenly fell quiet her fierce voice carried over the gathered crowd. “This isn’t the end. I have fought battles with worse odds than the one Sentinel has presented us with. We have several elements on our side, one being that this citadel has a large armory and defense system, if we plan carefully and work hard we might just stand a chance. It is better than screeching at each other and waiting for our deaths”

Her declaration made all the sound and sensation come rushing back to him in a hot tingle. They were not going to go down without a fight.

He carefully pulled himself out of Optimus’s embrace and stood, addressing the whole room. “Arcee is right. I take full responsibility for bringing Sentinel’s wrath down on our heads as it was my friend who told him where we are. Now that it’s there I suggest we don’t just give up. Another thing we have on our side is that no one knows you are all small and locked in your alt-modes. I didn’t tell that bit to Soundwave so he can’t have told Sentinel. I can think of a few ways we can surprise an invading army with that particular trick. If we all work together this might not be our final stand.”

The small blue helicopter named Whirl darted towards him. “You know we would stand a much better chance not stuck like this right? When are you two going to weapon up break this damn curse?”

There were several murmurs of agreement before he felt Optimus’s heavy hand landed on his shoulder, his deep voice coming from right beside his right audial. “Megatron and I can be of more help doing all the heavy lifting for the fortifications and traps Arcee is no doubt formulating right now than...hm... trying to break the curse.”

He listened with laser focus to Arcee and Optimus strategize ways to stop an enemy force dead in its tracks. When they had hammered out a rather clever plan everyone gathered split up to get to work. They set up fortifications well into the night. He transformed into his alt-mode and drilled several pit traps, false floors, and hidden tunnels. Optimus was lifting several tons of rock away to build up some barricades in order to funnel the flow of bots towards the traps.

The suns were rising by the time they were done and Ratchet very pointedly suggested Megatron and Optimus manually re-charge for several hours so they wouldn’t be asleep on their feet in the middle of the battle.

Megatron had leaned heavily on Optimus as they climbed the many stairs back to his quarters. His whole body, including his spark, felt leaden. He laid down heavily on the berth and Optimus joined him, silently curling his body around his. They were both exhausted but he wanted to feel him, for possibly the last time. He leaned up and raggedly whispered “I need you. Please.” and that had been more than enough encouragement for Optimus. 

Their fragging was more desperate than romantic. Hands clawing and scrabbling over armor and transformation seams. Pulling each other as close together as they could manage, armor leaving trails of paint transfers, marking them both deeply. Mouths moaning and biting and ex-venting heavily against neck cables and lips. Megatron could feel his optics leaking as he overloaded, it was slow and rolling and dragged Optimus to his own overload a few thrusts later.

He blue gaze was full of a deep sadness as he noticed Megatron was crying.

He leant down wordlessly and kissed the corners of his yellow optics and cheeks while murmuring. “I am here. You are safe as long as my spark still beats.”

Megatron ex-vented loudly and turned to kiss his cheek. “It’s not me I’m crying for...together. Together we will protect them all, promise me that if I die you will still go through with it. See Sentinel and the Senate destroyed and replaced with something better.”

Optimus looked at him as if he had just torn his spark out of his chest and crushed it in between his black hands. His voice was rough when he spoke. “I will not make such a promise because you are not going to die today. Together. Both of us will help everyone build a more just Cybertron.”

Megatron let his whole body go strutless as he nodded wordlessly, Optimus was still inside him but didn’t want him to pull out just yet. His spark was pulsing hard in his chest and he suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to open his spark chamber and press them even closer together. But the feeling passed almost as soon as it had arisen when Optimus slid out of him with a groan and got up to once again clean them both up.

After taking care of them both he laid down and pulled Megatron against his chest. He snuggled in closer and felt his spark humming under his cheek as he pressed it against his red chest plating. Megatron kissed the chest panel in front of him and offlined his optics. He hoped Optimus would do the same but suspected he might spend these, most likely final, hours watching him recharge peacefully. That’s what he would have done if he hadn’t manually forced himself to recharge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter that begins with sex and ends with political betrayal. 
> 
> This is the chapter when the proverbial shit hits the fan and things start happening fast. I want to mention that I love both Skyfire and Soundwave and I apologize for making them bad in this fic. I also apologize for killing Rewind and Dominus off screen for dramatic plot purposes. And for making the library from Beauty and the Beast, which should have been a joy for Megatron, into a nightmare. 
> 
> The new poem in this chapter is from "The Wander-Light" by Henry Lawson http://www.public-domain-poetry.com/henry-lawson/wander-light-5375 and of course the older lines from the earlier poem by him as well.
> 
> Also sorry for not updating for two months I've been working on my Transformers BigBang instead and related fics. I will finish this one before the end of the summer, when is anyone's guess. But if you fic updates, snippets, and Transformers content follow me on Twitter @ basilbing


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